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I 


THE  BLESSED  BEES 


BY 


JOHN  ALLEN 


NEW  YORK 

G.  P.  PUTNAM'S  SONS 

182  FIFTH  AVENUE 


Copyright  by 
G.  P.  PUTNAM’S  SONS 
1878 


£ ? Se  4V 

/LM y ¥-/  ■ BJtjR 


638 

R^  4b 


PREFACE. 


This  record  of  a year's  work  gives  the  experi- 
ences and  results  of  my  beginning  in  a business 
which  is  to  me  a constant  pleasure,  and  the  source 
of  a good  income.  Bee-keeping,  by  old  methods, 
was  believed  to  be  ruled  by  chance ; the  bee-keeper 
who  had  good  luck  obtained  some  honey  from  his 
hives  by  the  slaughter  of  his  bees  over  the  brim- 
stone pit  ; the  bee-keeper  who  had  bad  luck  found 
himself,  sooner  or  later,  the  owner  of  a beggarly 
array  of  empty  hives.  Bee-keeping,  by  modern 
methods,  depends  not  upon  luck  but  upon  knowl- 
edge; it  is  an  art  just  as  much  as  growing  wheat  or 
fruit  or  stock;  the  profits  which  may  be  gained 
from  it  are  just  as  certain  as  the  profits  from  any 
other  branch  of  rural  labor,  and  are  much  larger. 


i 


4 


PREFACE. 


To  write  these  chapters  has  been  to  me  a labor 
of  love.  I hope  they  may  serve  in  some  measure 
to  diffuse  a knowledge  of  bee-culture,  and  to  call 
attention  to  its  pleasures  and  its  profits. 


Linnswick,  March  ii,  1878. 


JOHN  ALLEN. 


CONTENTS, 


CHAPTER. 


PAGE. 


I. 

CLOUD, 

7 

II. 

GLEAM, 

• 

• 

14 

III. 

UTOPIA, 

• 

■ 25 

IV. 

BEGINNINGS — AT  WORK, 

. 

• 

33 

V. 

ITALIANIZING, 

• 

• 58 

VI. 

APPLE  BLOSSOMS, 

. 

. 

79 

VII. 

WHITE  CLOVER  AND  LINN,  . 

• 

• 93 

VIII. 

NUCLEUS  SWARMING, 

• 

• 

100 

IX. 

COMB-HONEY, 

• 

. 108 

X. 

FALL  FLOWERS,  . 

• 

. 

112 

XI. 

MORE  COMB-HONEY,  . 

• 

. 118 

XII. 

PREPARING  FOR  WINTER, 

• 

. 

122 

XIII. 

MARKETING,  . 

• 

. 1 3° 

XIV. 

DEBIT  AND  CREDIT, 

• 

. 

140 

XV, 

CONSIDERATIONS, 

• 

. 146 

NOTES, 

« 

• 

157 

Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
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University  of  Illinois  Urbana-Champaign  Alternates 


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THE  BLESSED  BEES. 


i. 

CLOUD. 

My  room  was  No.  14  in  the  old  boarding  hall, 
just  at  the  head  of  the  first  flight  of  stairs.  I stood 
at  the  window  watching  for  the  mail-boy,  who  was 
much  later  than  usual  that  night.  For  an  hour 
he  had  been  due.  It  was  a long  and  weary  hour  to 
me,  during  which  study  had  been  impossible.  After 
what  seemed  an  endless  time  I heard  his  step  com- 
ing by  the  college.  I forced  myself  to  sit  down 
quietly  at  the  table.  The  boy  would  distribute  the 
mail  in  the  steward’s  rooms  below  in  a few  minutes, 
and  as  he  came  up  stairs  my  room  was  first.  I 
should  soon  know  if  there  was  a message  for  me. 
No  news  would  be  good  news.  I listened  eagerly 
and  soon  heard  his  step  on  the  stair.  Would  he 
pass  my  door?  I hoped  so,  fervently.  He  came 
on.  He  stopped  and  knocked.  He  had  something 


8 


THE  BLESSED  BEES. 


for  me.  It  was,  as  I feared  it  would  be,  a telegram. 
My  nervousness  had  gone,  I was  quiet  now.  I 
opened  it  and  read : 

Your  father  is  worse.  Come  home  at  once. 

MARY  ALLEN. 

My  hope  was  gone  now.  I knew  my  mother 
would  not  have  sent  such  a message  unless  there 
was  real  danger.  There  was  no  time  for  anything 
but  action  ; indeed,  there  was  scarcely  time  for  that. 
I asked  my  chum,  Tom,  to  pick  up  my  things, 
ready  for  packing,  while  I should  go  across  to 
Bircham’s  for  a horse  and  wagon.  On  the  way 
over  I stopped  at  the  President’s  door,  and  obtained 
leave  of  absence  from  college.  It  was  after  nine 
o’clock,  and  Bircham  had  gone  to  bed.  But  I roused 
him,  and  he  promised  to  be  at  the  boarding-hall  at 
five  o’clock  in  the  morning.  The  train  left  Lansing 
at  six,  and  an  hour  would  give  us  ample  time, 
especially  if  we  took  the  lower  town  road,  as  it  was 
best  to  do,  since  they  were  grading  the  other. 
When  I got  back  to  the  room  Tom  had  everything 
ready  for  packing ; but  before  beginning,  I went  to 
the  rooms  of  several  of  my  special  friends  to  say 
good-bye.  They  were  manly  fellows,  full  of  pluck 
and  kindliness.  They  all  wanted  to  help  me,  but 
there  was  really  nothing  they  could  do,  and  they 
had  the  good  sense  to  see  it,  and  not  trouble  me. 
Then  the  old  trunk  was  soon  packed.  Tom  said  he 


CLOUD. 


9 


would  call  me  at  half-past  four,  and  insisted  on  my 
going  to  bed.  It  was  not  easy  to  sleep,  at  first  it 
seemed  impossible.  But  I knew  that  for  several 
days  I must  be  able  to  give  solid  help  at  home,  and 
should  need  whatever  strength  I had.  After  an 
hour  of  determination  sleep  came.  At  four  o'clock 
I awoke,  without  Tom's  calling,  and  at  once  pre- 
pared for  my  journey.  When  all  was  ready,  and 
my  trunk  waiting  in  the  hall,  I went  down  for  a 
few  minutes  to  the  college  grounds.  They  were 
very  dear  to  me,  and  the  feeling  was  strong  upon 
me  that  it  might  be  years  before  I should  see  them 
again.  The  walks,  the  old  oaks  on  the  lawn,  the 
young  oaks  in  groves,  the  flower  garden,  the  green- 
houses, the  vegetable  garden, — in  the  ten  minutes  at 
my  disposal  I glanced  at  them  all.  I had  done  many 
happy  hours  work  in  them.  They  had  brought  to 
me  a wealth  of  beauty.  How  beautiful  they  were 
in  the  early  light  of  that  quiet  September  morning ! 
On  returning  to  the  hall  I found  Bircham  at  the 
door,  and  my  belongings  already  bestowed  in  his 
one-horse  lumber  wagon.  Tom  and  I shook  hands, 
and  the  wagon  drove  off.  I looked  back  when  we 
were  nearly  at  the  plank-road.  Tom  stood  at  the 
horse-block.  He  waved  his  hand  and  turned  into 
the  hall.  In  a few  minutes  the  oak  woods  shut  the 
college  from  sight.  This  was  years  ago,  and  I have 
not  seen  it  since.  Year  by  year  I hear  of  its  growth 


10 


THE  BLESSED  BEES. 


and  prosperity,  and  am  glad.  It  was  a happy  home 
to  me  for  almost  two  years. 

Bircham  was  not  a talkative  companion,  and  left 
me  to  myself.  The  station  was  reached  in  time, 
soon  the  train  came  up  from  Jackson,  and  I was  on 
my  homeward  way.  Once  seated  and  going  on  as 
fast  as  steam  would  carry  me,  I had  time  to  think. 
It  seemed  certain  that  my  father  was  in  serious 
danger.  Two  days  before,  my  mother  had  written 
that  he  was  ill  of  typhoid  fever,  but  had  bidden  me 
stay  quietly  at  my  studies,  for  she  would  send  if 
there  was  any  danger.  She  had  sent.  There  was 
danger,  danger  that  in  the  prime  of  life  my  father 
should  go  away  to  return  to  us  no  more.  The  tie 
by  which  each  member  of  his  family  was  bound  to 
him  was  very  strong.  His  clear  sense,  his  sympa- 
thetic nature,  his  love  of  home,  had  made  him  a 
friend  and  companion  to  us  all.  He  was  sick  unto 
death  and  I was  seventy  miles  away.  It  seemed  as 
if  no  train  ever  went  so  slow,  that  no  hours  ever 
were  so  interminably  long.  When  the  brakeman 
shouted  “ Portland/’  it  seemed  as  if  we  had  been  all 
day  on  the  route,  but  it  was  only  a distance  of 
twenty-six  miles  from  Lansing.  I settled  down 
into  the  corner  of  the  seat,  pulled  my  cap  over  my 
eyes,  and  resolutely  tried  not  to  think.  To  this 
end  I began  to  repeat  in  order  all  the  propositions 
in  my  text-book  in  Geometry.  But  the  effort  not 


CLOUD. 


II 


to  think  of  home,  and  what  at  that  very  moment 
might  be  taking  place  there,  was  vain.  The  famil- 
iar words  of  the  geometrical  propositions  were 
mechanically  repeated,  but  my  mind  was  elsewhere. 
I remember  now  that  it  was  a sunny  day,  and  that 
often  hundreds  of  acres,  covered  with  brilliant 
golden-rod  and  coreopsis,  offered  a gorgeous  ex- 
panse of  richest  gold.  But  for  me  the  skies  and 
fields  were  leaden. 

The  weary  day  wore  on,  and  just  after  noon  the 
train  reached  Howard.  As  I stepped  upon  the 
platform  my  brother  Will  met  me.  He  said  only, 
“ Father  is  very  sick.  I came  over  early  this  morn- 
ing, and  brought  Jack  for  you  to  ride  home.  Leave 
your  trunk  with  the  stage-driver,  to  come  on  in  the 
morning.,,  In  five  minutes  we  were  on  the  way. 
The  horses  had  been  fed  at  Howard,  and  had  rested 
since  eight  o’clock  that  morning.  The  roads  were 
good.  It  was  only  ten  miles  home.  Without  un- 
duly urging  our  horses,  which  were  daily  used  on 
the  farm,  we  could  make  the  distance  in  an  hour 
and  a half.  I learned  as  we  went  on  that  father 
had  been  somewhat  ill  for  a week.  Three  days  be- 
fore, he  became  worse,  when  the  first  letter  had 
been  sent  to  me.  The  morning  before,  the  doctor 
had  expressed  doubts  of  his  recovery,  and  the  tele- 
gram for  my  return  had  been  dispatched!  He  was 
failing  rapidly  when  Will  left  for  Howard  that 


12 


THE  BLESSED  BEES. 


morning.  If  we  would  see  him  alive  we  must  reach 
home  soon.  Our  good  farm-horses  seemed  to  par- 
take of  our  eagerness.  The  day  was  growing  cool, 
and,  for  animals  not  used  to  the  road,  they  made 
good  time.  In  an  hour  and  a quarter  we  reached 
the  home  clearing.  Our  log-house  was  a quarter  of 
a mile  further,  at  the  opposite  side  of  the  “ forty.” 
We  could  see  the  doctor’s  gig,  and  the  horse  of  a 
neighbor,  at  the  gate.  In  a moment  our  horses 
were  there  also.  As  we  went  up  the  path  the  door 
opened,  and  my  mother  stood  in  the  door-way.  A 
glance  at  her  face  told  me  all.  My  father  was 
dead. 

I will  not  relate  the  incidents  of  the  next  few 
days.  Into  every  home  Death  has  come.  All 
know  the  deep  experiences  of  sorrow.  All  have 
felt  reluctance  to  speak  of  those  sacred  experiences 
to  others.  It  is  enough  to  say  that  kind  neighbors 
from  all  about  us  gave  friendly  help.  Not  a few 
told  of  the  good  words  and  deeds  of  him  who  was 
gone  away.  September  gave  one  of  its  brightest 
days  for  the  funeral.  After  the  “ earth  to  earth” 
had  been  said,  we  returned  to  our  home, — a home 
full  of  sorrow,  indeed,  but  not  desolate,  for  we  had 
glad  memories  of  his  pure  life  and  his  loving  heart. 
There  were,  too,  very  strong  ties  of  affection  be- 
tween us  all,  that  gave  us  now  strength  and  cour- 
age. Each  helped  the  other  to  bear  the  burden. 


CLOUD . 


13 


The  beautiful  day  was  drawing  to  a close  as  we 
reached  home.  A neighbor  woman  desired  to  re- 
main and  help  my  mother  for  the  night,  but  mother 
said  no.  She  preferred  that  we  should  be  alone. 
We  all  avoided  mention  of  our  sorrow,  and  all  be- 
gan the  usual  evening  work  of  the  farm  and  house. 
It  was  better  so.  When  we  gathered  in  mother’s 
room  at  last,  for  the  evening  hour  before  our  early 
bed-time,  she  read  to  us  the  fourteenth  chapter  of 
St.  John,  and  as  she  read  the  humble  room  seemed 
pervaded  by  a strengthening  spirit.  Surely  it  was 
the  presence  of  the  promised  Comforter. 


II. 


GLEAM. 

On  going  up  with  Will  to  our  attic-room  it  was 
impossible  for  me  to  go  at  once  to  sleep.  My  fath- 
er's sudden  death  brought  a great  change  to  us  all, 
a change  about  which  I could  not  help  thinking. 
He  had  been  fairly  successful,  as  success  is  counted 
among  pioneer  farmers.  He  had  begun  to  care  for 
himself  when  a boy  of  thirteen,  and  from  that  time 
had  been  dependent  entirely  upon  his  own  labor. 
He  had  given  himself  a good  education,  married  at 
twenty-six,  moved  from  the  East  upon  our  present 
farm  six  years  later,  had  put  up  good  log  buildings, 
cleared  sixty  acres  and  subdued  it  thoroughly,  put 
out,  ten  years  before  his  death,  fifteen  acres  in 
apple  trees,  kept  his  farm  well  stocked  with  such 
animals  as  were  needed,  and,  at  his  death,  left  every- 
thing free  from  debt.  As  such  things  are  calculated 
in  the  backwoods  of  Michigan  our  prospects  were  by 
no  means  desperate.  Will  and  I were  accustomed 
to  hard  work.  We  could  easily  take  care  of  the 

farm,  and  do  it  well.  And  the  farm  would  take  care 
14 


GLEAM. 


15 


of  us ; that  is,  we  should  have  enough  to  eat  and 
wear,  and  could  live  as  did  our  neighbors.  But 
father  had  often  talked  over  with  us  his  plans  for 
the  future, — plans,  as  to  his  children,  far  different 
from  merely  living  on  the  farm  from  year  to  year, 
with  scarcely  more  culture  than  the  oxen  that 
pulled  our  plow.  For  farming  he  had  a strong  lik- 
ing. For  the  intelligent  farmer  he  had  a high 
respect.  But  farmers  who  submitted  to  be  tyran- 
nized over  by  their  acres,  their  crops,  and  their 
stock  ; farmers  who  cared  little  for  the  best  education 
for  themselves  and  their  children,  roused  in  him  a 
manly  indignation.  He  had  sent  me  to  Lansing  to 
attend  the  Agricultural  College,  expecting  that  I 
would  graduate  there,  then  spend  two  years  at 
Harvard.  Will  was  to  have  a similar  course.  He 
hoped  that  we  would,  after  our  school  education  was 
finished,  choose  farming  for  a profession.  But  in 
this  we  were  to  be  free  to  follow  our  own  bent. 
My  sister  Lucy  was  to  go  to  Cornell  when  prepared 
for  college,  and  bring  to  his  country  home,  when  she 
graduated,  all  the  womanly  grace  and  culture  that 
the  schools  can  give. 

As  I thought  over,  in  the  stillness  of  that  lonesome 
night,  these  plans  and  hopes  which  had  been  so 
dear  to  my  father,  there  seemed  no  chance  of  their 
accomplishment  in  the  case  of  Will  and  myself. 
We  must  look  after  the  farm,  keep  up  the  home  for 


i6 


THE  BLESSED  BEES. 


us  all.  Probably  we  should  be  able  to  give  my 
sister  the  culture  which  had  been  planned,  but  our 
own  education  must  be  given  up,  so  far  as  college 
and  association  with  other  students,  were  concerned. 
The  thought  was  very  bitter.  More  bitter  than  this, 
however,  was  the  thought  that  mother  must  continue 
her  severe  toil.  We  had  hoped  that  in  another 
year  she  might  have  rest  from  the  self-sacrificing 
care  she  had  for  many  years  given  her  family,  go  for 
a long  visit  among  early  friends  in  Massachusetts, 
and  take  up  many  of  the  threads  of  life  that  had 
been  dropped  since  she  had  been  a pioneer  in  the 
backwoods.  This  hope,  also,  must,  for  the  present, 
be  given  up.  She  could  not  leave  her  family.  If 
she  could  have  done  this,  there  was  no  way  to  get 
the  money  for  her  expenses.  She  must  go  on  for 
years  in  the  old  way.  Nay,  perhaps  her  labors  and 
self-denials  would  be  increased. 

The  prospect,  certainly,  was  not  bright.  I shrunk 
from  no  hard  work.  I was  willing  to  struggle 
against  difficulties  and  endure  poverty.  But  for 
mother,  rest  and  change  were  necessary.  Will  and 
Lucy  were  worthy  of  the  best  culture  the  schools 
could  give.  My  own  hopes  seemed  to  me  honorable 
and  worthy  of  accomplishment.  To  give  all  these 
up  was  a grievous  disappointment.  It  was  far  into 
the  night  before  I could  quiet  myself  for  sleep. 

In  the  morning  I began  with  Will  the  farm-work. 


GLEAM . 


17 


The  wheat  was  already  sown,  twenty  acres  of  it. 
But  potatoes  were  not  dug,  nor  corn  husked,  nor 
buckwheat  threshed.  The  orchard  was  now  yielding 
well,  and  the  apples  were  to  be  gathered  and 
marketed.  As  we  worked  we  discussed  the  future. 
Will  agreed  that  for  him  and  me  our  fathers  plans 
must  be  given  up.  He  assented  more  easily  than  I 
had  expected,  but  I think  he  did  not  fully  realize 
what  the  giving  up  those  plans  meant  for  our  whole 
lives.  He  was  a year  younger  than  I,  and  he  had 
not  been  waked  up  by  two  years  at  college.  Our 
farm  was  well  located  on  a gentle  rise  sloping  to  the 
east  and  south.  Through  its  southern  and  western 
parts  ran  a good-sized  creek,  one  of  the  feeders  of 
the  Muskegon  river.  Twenty  acres  of  the  land 
along  the  creek  had  never  been  cleared,  and  both  up 
and  down  the  creek  this  forest  extended  far  beyond 
the  limits  of  our  farm.  Our  fields  and  fences, 
orchard  and  buildings  were  all  in  good  condition, 
and  it  was  a real  delight  to  push  forward  our  work 
during  the  fine  days  of  the  last  of  September  and 
the  first  of  October.  The  potatoes  were  not  an 
average  yield,  the  season  in  July  had  been  a little 
too  dry  and  hot  for  them.  But  the  corn  yielded 
largely,  and  the  buckwheat  gave  an  excellent  crop. 
But  our  principal  labor  and  pleasure  were  in  the 
orchard.  This  had  been  father’s  special  pride.  He 
had  procured  the  best  varieties  of  apples  adapted  to 


i8 


THE  BLESSED  BEES. 


our  climate,  and  had  cared  for  them  in  the  best 
manner.  All  the  approved  works  on  fruit-culture 
had,  from  year  to  year,  found  their  way  to  his  shelves. 
He  had  been  an  authority  on  apples  through  all  the 
country.  The  orchard  had  never  given  so  large  a 
crop  as  that  fall.  There  were  seven  hundred  trees, 
and  nearly  all  were  well  laden.  There  were  scarcely 
any  orchards  in  the  vicinity  in  bearing  condition. 
When  ours  was  first  put  out  father  had  been  looked 
on,  by  many  of  the  surrounding  farmers,  as  a foolish 
visionary.  But  he  had  looked  ahead.  He  foresaw 
that  the  country  would  rapidly  develop  ; that  the 
great  lumber  regions  near  us  would  give  a large 
market  for  apples ; that  railroads  would  be  built  and 
thus  an  outlet  secured  to  the  markets  south  and 
west.  So  he  had  contented  himself  with  log  build- 
ings, and  had  planted  the  orchard.  Now  his  wise 
forethought  came  to  our  help  when  he  had  forever 
gone  from  us. 

To  gather  the  apples  and  take  them  to  market 
was  by  no  means  a small  work.  But  experience  in 
former  years  with  smaller  crops  had  taught  us  how 
to  manage.  A portion  of  the  crop  was  to  be 
marketed  at  once,  a portion  was  to  be  stored  for 
marketing  in  the  spring.  Our  apples  were  well 
known  as  of  the  best  quality.  The  buyers  in 
Howard  were  competing  somewhat  for  superior 
fruit,  some  desiring  to  send  it  to  the  lumber  camps, 


GLEAM . 


19 


others  to  ship  it  south.  We  determined,  therefore, 
to  market  our  crop  there.  In  marketing  the  pre- 
vious smaller  crops  we  had  used  four  large  wagon 
boxes,  made  long  and  high,  in  which  to  haul  the 
fruit  to  Howard.  After  wheat  sowing  with  us, 
there  is  a lull  in  work,  so  we  easily  procured  pickers 
to  gather  the  fruit,  and  three  teams,  in  addition  to 
our  own,  for  hauling  it.  The  light  ladders,  the  bas- 
kets, all  the  appurtenances  for  picking  were  in  good 
order.  It  was  on  a most  beautiful  day  that  the  four 
wagons,  each  with  one  of  the  large  boxes  on  it,  were 
driven  to  the  orchard,  and  the  pickers  began  their 
merry  work.  We  began  picking  just  after  dinner, 
so  that  the  fruit  might  be  perfectly  dry.  Before 
night  the  boxes  were  filled,  and  covered  with  blan- 
kets to  protect  them  from  the  damp  night  air. 
Early  in  the  morning  we  went  to  Howard,  sold  the 
four  loads,  deposited  the  money  in  the  bank,  and 
were  home  again  at  noon.  In  the  afternoon  the 
pickers  were  again  at  work,  and  the  wagons  were 
filled  in  readiness  for  the  next  morning.  So  the 
work  went  on  until  we  had  drawn  to  market,  and 
sold  for  cash,  3,169  bushels — all  of  our  crop  which 
was  to  be  sold  that  fall.  We  received  73  cents  per 
bushel.  After  paying  all  expenses  of  picking  and 
hauling,  our  crop  of  apples,  for  fall  market,  netted  us 
the  comfortable  sum  of  $1,196.47.  The  average  yield 
per  tree  had  been  more  than  seven  and  a half  bushels. 


20 


THE  BLESSED  BEES . 


The  Roxbury  Russets  were  to  be  kept  until  the 
spring.  They  were  put  in  large  piles  on  sandy 
knolls  in  the  orchard,  covered  with  straw  and  then 
with  sand  until  safe  against  the  severest  frosts.  We 
knew  by  experience  that  they  would  keep  in  this 
way  perfectly.  The  yield  was  about  the  same  per 
tree  as  the  other  part  of  the  orchard.  We  buried 
2,080  bushels.  The  profitable  yield  from  the  orchard 
gave  me  much  encouragement.  It  promised  rest 
and  change  for  my  mother,  and  education  for  my 
sister.  It  would  increase  in  productiveness  for  sev- 
eral years  to  come.  Should  the  yield  average  as 
large  as  it  had  been  this  year  I was  now  quite  cer- 
tain of  our  ability  to  do  many  things  which  had  been 
talked  over  in  my  fathers  plans. 

Under  two  or  three  of  the  apple  trees  nearest  the 
house  were  ranged  some  hives  of  bees.  They  had 
been  special  pets  of  my  father’s.  He  enjoyed  seeing 
them,  and  hearing  their  industrious  hum.  He  had 
been  taught  in  his  youth  to  keep  bees  in  the  old 
way,  and  as  he  had  never  expected  any  profit  from 
them  he  had  kept  them  as  he  was  taught.  They 
were  in  box  hives,  with  a place  for  putting  small 
honey-boxes  on  top.  We  had  usually  obtained 
enough  honey  for  family  use  ; sometimes  there  had 
been  a few  score  pounds  to  sell.  Now  that  the  pres- 
sure of  fall  work  was  over  I went  one  day  to 
examine  these  bees.  I found  seventeen  swarms  in 


GLEAM. 


21 


good,  common,  box-hives.  There  had  been  ten  the 
previous  spring.  The  increase  for  the  year  had  been 
but  seven.  The  boxes  had  been  put  on  the  last  of 
August,  and  were  nearly  all  full,  so  that  now  I took 
from  each  hive  an  average  of  twenty-four  pounds  of 
good  box-honey.  I learned  that  father  had  taken 
from  the  ten  old  hives  thirty  pounds  each  just  after 
white-clover,  in  July.  Thus  the  result  of  the  ten 
hives  for  the  year  had  been  over  seventy  pounds  of 
good  comb  honey  per  hive,  and  an  increase  of  seven 
swarms.  A very  good  result,  indeed,  as  it  then 
seemed  to  me,  for  I knew  scarcely  anything  about 
bees  or  their  management.  While  at  the  college  I 
had  seen  bees  in  movable-comb  hives,  and  had  two 
or  three  times  heard  Prof.  Cook  speak  in  most  en- 
thusiastic terms  of  the  pleasures  and  profits  of  bee- 
keeping. With  the  superior  wisdom  common  to 
boys  of  sixteen,  I had  regarded  his  enthusiasm  as  an 
amiable  weakness,  and  had  smiled  at  the  idea  of 
making  much  money  from  so  small  a business  as 
keeping  bees.  I had,  however,  procured  a copy  of 
his  little  Manual  of  the  Apiary,  intending  to  give  it 
to  father  that  he  might  get  some  hints  to  increase 
his  enjoyment  with  his  pets.  Now  I went  to  my 
trunk  and  looked  out  the  book,  to  see  if  it  had  any- 
thing to  say  about  wintering  bees,  for  I remembered 
hearing  father  say  that  this  was  the  great  stumbling- 
block  in  the  way  of  successful  bee-keeping.  Often 


22 


THE  BLESSED  BEES. 


a large  portion  of  the  swarms  would  perish  in  the 
winter ; sometimes  the  sorry  bee-keeper  would  find 
himself  in  the  spring  the  owner  only  of  a long  array 
of  empty  hives.  Our  bees  had  done  so  well  for  the 
season  it  seemed  worth  while  to  winter  them  if  pos- 
sible, so  to  Prof.  Cook  I turned  for  knowledge. 

As  I ran  down  the  index  page  my  eye  chanced  to 
strike  the  words  Profits  of  Bee-keeping.  I turned  to 
the  body  of  the  book  to  see  what  the  profits  were. 
I was  much  surprised  as  I read,  and  thought  at  first 
there  must  be  some  mistake.  After  reading  the 
passage  over  three  or  four  times  it  seemed  certain 
that  it  said  what  the  author  had  intended  to  say, 
but  the  statement  seemed  quite  incredible.  He 
said : A n experienced  apiarist  may  invest  in  bees  any 
spring  in  Michigan,  with  the  absolute  certainty  of 
more  than  doubling  his  investment  the  first  season, 
while  a net  gain  of  four  hundred  per  cent,  causes  no 
surprise  to  the  bee-keepers  of  our  state.  During  the 
past  season  an  investment  in  bees  has  returned  to  me 
five  hundred  per  cent.,  and  though  this  has  been  a, 
good  season  for  honey,  yet  I have  done  better  than  this 
several  times.  No  less  than  three  farmers  of  our 
state  who  possess  good  improved  farms,  and  also  keep 
about  one  hundred  colonies  of  bees  each,  have  told  me 
within  a few  weeks  that  their  income  from  their  bees 
far  exceeded  that  from  their  farms. 

These  statements  at  first  seemed  so  wild  as  to  be 


GLEAM . 


23 


simply  absurd.  But  when  I came  to  compare  them 
with  the  proceeds  of  our  ten  swarms  in  box-hives 
for  that  very  year  the  absurdity  all  vanished.  Our 
account  with  our  ten  swarms  would  have  stood  as 
follows : 


Cr. 

By  708  lbs.  box  honey,  at  20  cts.  per  lb. 
“ 7 swarms,  at  $5  00  each, 


Dr. 

To  7 new  hives,  for  increase,  at  50  cts.  each, 
“ 162  5-lb.  honey-boxes,  at  10  cts.  each, 


$141  60 
35  00 

$176  60 


$ 3 50 
16  20 

19  70 


Net  gain  in  one  year  on  10  swarms,  . $156  90 

Common  black  bees  in  box-hives  were  worth  at 
that  time  in  our  neighborhood  $5.00  per  hive.  Our 
ten  swarms  in  the  spring,  then,  represented  an  invest- 
ment of  $50.  On  this  investment  we  had  cleared 
that  year  $156  90 — or  more  than  313  per  cent.  If, 
with  black  bees  in  box-hives,  we  had  been  so  suc- 
cessful, might  it  not  be  reasonable  that  with  Italian 
bees  in  movable-comb  hives,  and  the  skillful  use  of 
all  modern  appliances,  a gain  of  500  per  cent . per 
annum  could  be  made,  as  Prof.  Cook  had  said  ? His 
statement  no  longer  seemed  absurd.  His  little  book 
on  bees  had  set  me  thinking — thinking  so  seriously 
that  I went  about  in  a dreamy  state  for  a week. 
Was  there  not  in  these  bees  a chance  for  me  to 


24 


THE  BLESSED  BEES. 


achieve  the  culture,  the  travel,  the  good  works  in 
many  ways  for  our  family,  which  my  father  had 
planned  for  so  many  years,  but  which  his  untimely 
death  had  blighted  P1 
i The  figures  refer  to  the  notes  in  the  appendix. 


III. 


UTOPIA. 

In  the  little  book  on  bees  there  was  an  advertise- 
ment of  a monthly  periodical,  devoted  to  bee  cul- 
ture. I sent  for  a specimen  copy,  which  came  in  a few 
days.  It  was  read  with  great  interest,  and  corrobor- 
ated all  the  statements  in  Prof.  Cook's  book  as  to 
profits.  In  this  periodical,  I found  advertisements 
of  two  others,  devoted  to  the  same  subject.  I sent 
also  for  specimens  of  these.  When  they  came  and 
were  read,  I sent  subscriptions  for  a year  to  each  of 
them,  and  purchased  all  the  back  volumes  of  one  of 
them.  I sent  also  for  Quinby’s  Mysteries  of  Bee- 
keeping, and  for  Langstroth  on  The  Hive  and  Honey 
Bee . These  two  books  were  both  most  excellent  in 
their  time,  but  the  improvements  in  bee-keeping 
since  they  were  written,  have  been  so  great,  that  in 
many  things  they  were  not  up  with  the  times.  Prof. 
Cook,  and  the  three  magazines,  and  the  back  vol- 
umes of  the  one,  became  my  text-books,  and  were 
most  diligently  studied. 

Meanwhile  the  season  was  running  on.  I learned 

25 


26 


THE  BLESSED  BEES. 


that  bees  had  usually  wintered  best  in  good,  dry 
cellars,  perfectly  dark,  kept  at  a temperature  of  40 
to  45  degrees.  I prepared  our  cellar,  and  at  the 
proper  time  put  the  seventeen  swarms  into  it.  Then 
other  preparations  were  made  for  winter.  Wood 
vvas  to  be  hauled  and  cut.  Will  and  I soon  hauled 
from  the  woods  along  the  creek,  an  abundant  supply. 
It  had  been  corded  there  the  winter  before,  and  was 
now  in  good  condition.  A man,  who  ran  a horse- 
power saw,  was  engaged  for  a day,  and  a tremendous 
pile  of  wood  was  sawed.  Barns,  stables,  corn-cribs, 
cellar,  wood-pile  were  now  ready  for  the  severe 
weather  which  winter  always  brings  in  this  latitude. 

I had  engaged  to  teach  the  school  in  an  adjacent 
district  for  four  months,  at  forty-two  dollars  per 
month.  It  was  three  miles  from  home,  and  I should 
need  to  remain  in  my  district  from  Monday  morning 
to  Friday  night.  Lucy,  it  was  determined,  should 
board  near  the  school-house  in  my  district,  and  at- 
tend my  school.  As  this  would  leave  the  family  at 
home  rather  small,  mother  decided  to  take  the 
teacher  in  our  own  district  to  board  for  the  winter. 
This  teacher  was  a warm  friend  of  mother’s,  and 
would  be  good  company  for  her  during  the  winter. 
She  was  in  everyway  a competent  teacher,  and  Will 
would  be  one  of  her  pupils.  He  would  look  after 
the  stock  nights  and  mornings,  and  be  “ man  of  the 
house.” 


UTOPIA. 


2 7 


My  school  began  the  middle  of  November.  It 
was  not  difficult  to  manage.  I enjoyed  teaching. 
For  me  there  was  a pleasure  in  teaching  the  three  or 
four  little  children  how  to  read  by  the  word  method. 
And  the  daily  drills  in  grammar,  arithmetic,  and 
geography  were  so  pleasant  to  me,  that  the  pupils 
soon  caught  my  spirit  and  made  rapid  progress.  All 
external  facilities  were  of  the  most  meagre  character, 
as  they  must  be  in  a new  country.  The  house  was 
made  of  logs,  the  door  in  one  end,  two  small  windows 
in  the  other  end  and  in  each  of  the  sides.  A large 
box-stove  stood  in  the  centre.  Around  the  sides 
against  the  walls,  were  fastened  wide  boards,  slightly 
inclined,  for  the  pupils*  desks.  They  sat  at  these 
desks  on  benches,  with  their  backs  toward  the  centre 
of  the  room.  Of  maps,  charts,  globes  we  had  none 
whatever,  but  there  was  a good  black-board.  Such 
a building  with  no  apparatus  seems  very  primitive 
compared  with  the  elegant  structures,  and  abundance 
of  material  for  illustration  now  provided  for  the 
public  schools  in  many  of  our  cities  and  villages. 
But  I doubt  if  any  more  eager  pupils  assemble  in 
those  costly  buildings,  than  came  day  after  day,  often 
through  wind  and  snow,  to  that  rude  house  in  the 
back-woods.  They  came  from  the  newly  cleared 
fields  wherein  they  had  wrought  all  summer,  and 
from  whence  they  had  just  gathered  the  abundant 
harvest.  They  came  from  houses  small  and  rude, 


28 


THE  BLESSED  BEES. 


where,  since  last  winter's  school  closed,  they  had 
cooked  and  scrubbed,  made  butter  and  cheese, 
washed  and  ironed,  and  with  skillful  fingers  had  cut 
and  made  the  family  garments.  To  these  boys  and' 
girls  the  four  months'  school  was  a boon  highly 
prized.  They  were  zealous  and  quick-witted  pupils. 
It  was  a pleasure  to  see  the  clearness  with  which  they 
would  analyze  a problem  in  Algebra.  Our  reading 
books  were  of  the  good  old  kind,  made  up  of  selec- 
tions from  English  classics.  How  often,  as  we  read 
the  stirring  passages,  did  the  cheek  of  boy  or  girl 
flush  with  sympathy,  the  eye  sparkle  with  pleasure, 
and  the  lines  around  the  mouth  assume  a firmer  tense- 
ness. As  the  weeks  wore  on,  I was  glad  to  believe  that 
when  the  school  was  done,  and  the  boys  and  girls 
were  again  at  work  on  the  farms,  and  in  their  humble 
kitchens,  something  of  earnestness,  of  beauty,  and  of 
aspiration,  caught  from  their  term  of  study,  would 
dignify  their  lives. 

When  the  school  was  once  in  good  running  order 
I had  plenty  of  time  to  devote  to  my  books  on  bees. 
They  had  for  me  a strong  fascination.  I read  them 
until  late  at  night,  and  was  busy  with  them  again 
in  the  early  morning.  I began  with  the  first  number 
of  the  magazine,  of  which  I had  the  back  volumes, 
and  read  them  every  word,  advertisements  and  all. 
No  question  as  to  bee  management,  sent  up  by  some 
new  beginner,  escaped  me.  No  article,  by  any  of 


UTOPIA . 


29 


the  older  bee-keepers,  but  was  read  and  read  again. 
Every  report  as  to  success  or  failures  was  carefully 
pondered.  Most  of  the  advertisements  requested 
readers  to  send  for  circulars,  a request  which  I ac- 
cepted, and  soon  had  a pile  of  documents  about 
hives,  extractors,  smokers,  and  Italian  queens.  I read 
Prof.  Cook's  “ Manual,"  turned  back  and  read  again, 
then  re-read  portions  on  points  about  which  I was 
not  clear.  Then  I imagined  that  I was  beginning 
the  season  with  a hive  of  bees,  and  went  over  every 
process  in  bee-keeping  time  after  time,  until  the 
whole  theory  was  as  familiar  to  me  as  the  alphabet. 
I was  so  entirely  absorbed,  and  went  about  with  such 
an  absent  air,  that  some  of  the  good  gossips  of  the 
district  began  to  say  that  the  school-master  was  in 
love.  Often  my  pencil  was  in  hand,  and  old  envel- 
opes, the  margins  of  newspapers,  and  odd  scraps 
were  covered  with  figures.  The  bee  journals  said 
that  often,  by  the  system  of  nucleus  swarming,  as 
many  as  three  new,  good  swarms  of  bees  could  be 
made  in  one  season  from  one  old  one,  so  that  begin- 
ning with  one  in  the  spring,  you  would  have  four  in 
the  fall.  They  said,  too,  that  in  addition  to 
this,  honey  to  the  value  of  ten  dollars  could  be 
secured  from  the  old  hive,  helped,  perhaps,  some- 
what by  a little  that  the  first  new  ones  would  give.3 
When  I put  this  statement  in  figures,  and  carried 
the  calculation  out  for  a few  years,  it  assumed 


30 


TILE  BLESSED  BEES. 


startling  proportions.  The  result  was  so  incredible, 
that  for  a long  time  I refused  to  believe,  and  went 
again  to  my  books  and  journals  to  see  if  there  were 
not  some  mistake.  But  I could  find  no  error.  The 
statements  as  to  increase  and  profits  were  clear  and 
positive.  There  seemed  no  chance  for  me  to  have 
gone  wrong.  If  an  increase  of  three  swarms  were 
received  from  each  old  one,  then  the  old  one  and  the 
three  new  ones  would  give  four  swarms  in  the  fall 
for  each  one  with  which  I began  in  the  spring.  If, 
now,  an  average  yield  of  honey  be  secured  from 
these  new  swarms,  the  first  season,  sufficient  to  pay 
for  their  hives,  and  a yield  from  the  old  hive  worth 
ten  dollars,  here  is  the  result  for  five  years,  assuming 
that  I begun  with  five  hives  : 


HIVES. 

5x4  = 20 

20X4  = 80 

80X4  = 320 

220X4  = 1 28o 
1280X4  = 5120 


DOLLARS. 

5X10  = $ 50.00 

20X10  = 200.00 

80X10  = 800.00 

320X10=  3,200.00 

1280X10  = 12,800.00 


At  the  end  of  five  years,  I should  have  5120 
swarms  of  bees,  and  an  income  of  $12,800  ; and  both 
bees  and  income  increasing  in  a quadruple  ratio. 

Of  course  I saw  that  this  calculation  did  not  take 
into  account  the  poor  seasons  in  which  little  honey 
or  increase  could  be  made,  nor  the  losses  from  win- 
tering, disease,  etc.  Nor  did  I neglect  the  fact  that 
after  the  third  year  I should  be  unable  to  manage 


UTOPIA . 


3* 


the  work  alone,  but  must  establish  apiaries  in  different 
places,  and  trust  the  work  to  competent  assistants, 
being  general  superintendent  myself.  Shutting  my 
eyes  to  the  above  glittering  array  of  figures,  I started 
out  again  on  a more  moderate  basis.  I had  now  in 
the  cellar  at  home,  the  seventeen  strong  swarms  in 
box  hives.  I could  easily  buy  from  some  keeper  of 
bees,  in  the  southern  part  of  the  county,  for  not 
more  than  five  dollars  each,  thirteen  swarms  more, 
so  as  to  begin  the  season  with  thirty  swarms.  These 
I would  transfer  to  movable-frame  hives,  and  run 
them  for  extracted  honey.  Again  my  facile  pencil 
sought  the  paper.  Taking  a most  moderate  view  of 
the  increase,  it  seemed  that  I could  keep  my  old 
hives  very  strong  in  bees,  and  make  one  and  a half 
new  swarms  from  each  old  one,  so  as  to  have  at  the 
close  of  the  season  two  and  one-half  good  swarms 
for  each  old  one  with  which  I began.  I had  always 
heard  father  say  that  ours  was  a good  location  for 
bees,  and  the  result  of  last  year  seemed  to  prove  it. 
From  the  statements  in  the  journals,  and  from  the 
experience  with  our  ten  swarms  of  the  past  year,  it 
did  not  seem  irrational  to  expect,  in  a good  location 
and  with  good  management,  five  dollars  worth  of 
honey  from  each  old  hive  per  year  ; and  from  the 
new  swarms  enough  to  pay  for  hives  and  frames. 
Omitting  fractions  the  yearly  results  for  five  years 
would  stand  thus  : 


32 


THE  BLESSED  BEES . 


HIVES. 


DOLLARS. 


30X2!  = 75 

75X21=  187 
187X21=  467 
467x2^  = 1167 


75x5  — 375 

187x5  = 935 

467x5  *=  2335 
1167x5=  5835 


30x5  — $ 150 


Il67X2l  = 2917 


At  the  end  of  five  years  I should  have  2917 
swarms  of  bees,  all  paid  for,  and  should  have  an  in- 
come of  $5,835,  with  stock  and  income  increasing  at 
the  ratio  of  2 Again  I went  over  everything  to 
be  sure  that  there  were  no  errors  in  my  data  or  my 
calculations.  I was  so  absorbed  in  my  bee-keeping 
studies,  that  I fear  for  some  days  the  school  was 
taught  somewhat  mechanically.  Finally  I locked  up 
all  my  bee-keeping  literature  for  a week,  and  resorted 
to  the  binomial  formula  and  the  Pickwick  Papers 
to  clear  up  all  mental  fogs  and  hallucinations.  At 
the  end  of  the  week  my  data  and  calculations  seemed 
all  right.  There  certainly  was  no  mistake  in  the 
theory.  Was  it  possible  to  put  the  theory  into  suc- 
cessful practice  ? I decided. to  try. 


IV. 


BEGINNINGS. 

It  was  the  middle  of  January  when  this  determin- 
ation was  reached.  It  was  already  time  to  begin. 
My  school  would  not  close  for  two  months,  but  much 
could  be  done  in  the  way  of  preparation  even  while 
I was  teaching.  My  first  outlay  had  been  for  bee- 
literature.  The  books  and  journals  had  opened  to 
me  the  whole  science  of  bee-culture.  I looked  over 
again  all  the  advertisements,  and  made  out  another 
list  of  books,  including  the  recent  back  volumes 
of  all  the  journals  published  in  America.  This 
purchase,  with  what  I had  bought  before,  amounted 
to  $34  65.  It  was  a somewhat  extravagant  ex- 
penditure, will  be  the  thought  of  many.  But  I 
wanted  as  full  knowledge  of  the  experiences  of 
others  as  could  be  obtained.  The  books  and  jour- 
nals gave  this  experience  quite  fully,  reporting 
failures  as  well  as  successes.  There  was  no  way  in 
which  I could  so  easily  make  the  acquaintance  of 
bee-keepers  as  through  their  writings.  There  was 
no  practicable  way  of  learning  what  had  been  found 

33 


34 


THE  BLESSED  BEES . 


out  about  different  hives,  frames,  methods  of  man- 
agement, and  races  of  bees,  except  to  read  the  pub- 
lished experience  of  those  who  had  tried  them. 
Laying  out  a few  dollars  in  books  now,  might  save 
one  from  mistakes  involving  much  vexation  and 
many  thousands  of  dollars.  I made  up  my  mind 
that  it  was  economical  to  be  wisely  extravagant  in 
buying  books. 

My  plan  was  to  begin  the  season  with  not  less 
than  thirty  swarms.  I must  purchase  at  least  thir- 
teen to  add  to  those  at  home.  The  first  of  Febru- 
ary I heard  of  a farmer,  ten  miles  further  south, 
who  was  going  to  Grand  Traverse  to  grow  fruit. 
He  had  some  bees  he  wanted  to  sell.  The  next 
Saturday  I drove  to  his  place  with  a common  large 
sleigh.  He  had  nine  swarms  in  fair  condition.  He 
willingly  sold  them  at  $4  50  per  swarm.  I turned 
the  hives  top  end  down,  stood  them  on  straw  on 
the  bottom  of  the  sleigh,  and  drove  home  with  no 
mishap.  A few  days  later  I heard  of  a vendue,  at 
which  some  bees  were  to  be  sold.  Here  I found 
ten  good  box-hives,  with  the  bees  apparently  in 
good  condition,  and  plenty  of  stores.  Bees  were  in 
no  demand,  and  the  ten  hives  were  struck  off  to  me 
at  $4  25  per  hive.  They  were  taken  home  and 
ranged  with  my  other  purchase  in  the  orchard,  giv- 
ing me,  with  the  seventeen  in  the  cellar,  thirty-six 
hives  to  begin  with. 


BEGINNINGS. 


35 


Reports  from  all  sides  said  that  bees  must  be 
kept  in  movable-comb  hives.*  Early  in  my  read- 
ing I learned  that  several  different  frames  were 
in  use,  for  holding  the  combs,  and  that  each  frame 
had  its  eager  partisans.  It  was  clear  from  the  re- 
ports that  either  of  the  frames  could  be  successfully 
used  by  a good  manager.  It  was  not  easy  for  me 
to  decide  which  was  best  for  my  purpose.  But  a 
decision  must  be  made.  After  many  days  spent  in 
considering  the  matter,  weighing  testimony  from 
all  sides  as  it  came  before  me  in  the  books  and  jour- 
nals, looking  as  much  as  possible  into  the  future  and 
its  development  of  my  business,  I decided  upon 
using  the  Gallup  frame.5  I cannot  now  and  here 
give  all  the  reasons  that  led  me  to  this  decision. 
Perhaps  when  this  record  is  finished  the  reasons 
will  be  sufficiently  manifest. 

As  to  hives,  it  appeared  that  those  of  plainest 
and  simplest  construction  were  best.  On  hives  and 
frames  there  was  no  patent  of  any  value.  The 
Langstroth  patent,  which  covered  the  movable- 
comb  principle,  had  expired  some  years  before. 
I concluded  to  use  a perfectly  plain  box,  with 
a lid  like  a trunk,  long  enough  to  hold  twelve 
Gallup  frames.  These  hives  were  to  be  so  made 
that  one  could  be  set  on  top  of  another,  making  a 
second  story  to  serve  as  a surplus  receptacle  to  be 
worked  for  either  comb  or  extracted  honey.  In 


36 


THE  BLESSED  BEES. 


order  to  have  the  hives  perfectly  accurate  in  all 
respects  it  was  best  to  send  to  an  experienced  bee- 
keeper for  a pattern  hive,  by  which  I could  have 
the  material  for  my  hives  cut  out  at  a sash  and 
door  factory  in  Howard.  It  would  save  expense  in 
transportation  to  send  for  all  the  material  I needed 
for  the  year  at  one  time,  and  have  it  forwarded  by 
freight.  I took  the  circular  of  one  of  the  dealers  in 
apiarian  supplies,  and  carefully  prepared  a list.  My 
situation  was  so  remote  from  all  places  where  bee- 
keeping material  could  be  obtained,  that  it  seemed 
wisest  to  send  for  an  abundance.  If  not  all  were 
needed  the  first  year  it  would  be  on  hand  for  an- 
other season.  Beginning  with  thirty-six  swarms  of 
bees  there  would  be  needed  as  many  hives  for 
brood  chambers,  and  as  many  more  for  second 
stories  for  surplus  honey.  If  then  the  increase  in 
swarms  should  be  one  and  a half  for  each  old  one, 
there  would  be  needed  fifty-four  hives  for  these, 
making  in  all  one  hundred  and  twenty-six  hives. 
Twelve  frames  for  a hive  would  make  1512  frames. 
My  list  of  goods  was  as  follows : 


1600  Frames,  at  5c. 


1 Quinby  smoker, 

1 Honey  extractor, 
I Uncapping  knife, 


I Two-story,  pattern  Gallup  hive, 


$6  00 
80  00 
1 50 
7 50 


JL  U llLdppUllj  KllUCj  • • 

2 Tarletane  bee-veils,  at  50c. 


1 00 
1 00 


$97  00 


BEGINNINGS. 


37 


It  was  Saturday  the  ioth  of  February  that  I 
drove,  in  company  with  Will  and  my  mother,  to 
Howard  to  get  a check  for  this  amount,  to  inclose 
with  my  order.  While  there  I made  inquiries  as  to 
the  best  sash  and  door  factory.  It  was  necessary 
that  the  material  for  hives  should  be  cut  out  with 
great  nicety,  so  that  every  hive  should  be  the  exact 
counterpart  of  every  other.  I was  unwilling  to 
trust  the  work  to  any  but  the  most  skillful  work- 
men. At  the  same  time  I wanted  the  cost  to  be  as 
small  as  possible.  Having  mailed  my  order,  I tried 
to  dismiss  be£s  from  my  mind  until  the  articles 
should  arrive.  I spent  the  nights  and  Saturdays 
and  Sundays  among  some  friends.  As  a relief  from 
school  cares,  and  from  my  long  absorption  in  study 
of  bee  literature  and  plans  for  my  first  season's  cam- 
paign, I read  Romola  and  Robert  Falconer . Both 
books  served  as  intellectual  and  moral  tonics.  As 
I closed  the  volume  on  the  last  page  of  Romola  I 
could  but  feel  deeply  grateful  for  the  gift  to  hu- 
manity of  that  great  genius  who  had  wrought  into 
the  book  so  much  of  the  wealth  of  her  own  soul. 

In  a little  more  than  two  weeks  I received  notice 
from  Howard  that  my  goods  had  arrived.  The  fol- 
lowing Friday  afternoon  I went  home,  and  with 
Will’s  assistance,  by  ten  o'clock  at  night,  had  put 
the  work-shop  which  stood  near  the  barn,  in  a cor- 
ner of  the  orchard  near  where  the  bees  were  to  be 


33 


THE  BLESSED  BEES. 


placed,  into  good  order  for  receiving  material,  and 
making  hives.  Saturday  morning  we  drove  to 
Howard  with  the  sleigh.  The  articles  had  come  in 
good  condition.  The  frames  had  been  somewhat 
bulky  to  box,  yet  the  freight  on  the  whole  was  but 
$4  60.  I took  my  sample  hive  and  drove  to  one 
after  another  of  the  sash  factories  and  planing  mills, 
explaining  to  the  proprietors  just  what  I wanted, 
and  asking  them  to  give  me  their  lowest  terms  for 
furnishing  first  quality  pine  lumber  for  one  hundred 
and  fifty  hives,  and  cutting  it  out  after  the  pattern. 
The  hives  were  not  large,  and  would  take  but  a 
small  amount  of  lumber  per  hive.  They  were  so 
simple  in  construction  that  the  labor  would  not  be 
great,  but  I made  it  distinctly  understood  that 
every  piece  must  be  exactly  right.  The  largest 
mill,  and  the  one  having  the  best  machinery,  offered 
to  do  the  job  at  38  cents  each, — $57  00  for  the 
hundred  and  fifty  hives.  In  most  places  it  could 
not  be  done  for  so  small  a sum,  but  Howard  is  in 
the  midst  of  the  great  pine  regions,  hence  lumber  is 
low.  And  the  last  of  February  is  a season  when 
little  work  is  to  be  had,  and  as  I offered  to  pay 
cash,  the  job  was  a good  one  for  the  manufacturer. 
He  promised  to  have  them  cut  out  by  the  follow- 
ing Friday,  when  Will  would  drive  over  and  get 
them,  before  the  sleighing  was  gone. 

Having  attended  to  the  hives  I went  to  various 
stores  and  made  the  following  purchases : 


BEGINNINGS, 


39 


2 Hammers,  at  75c. 

. . $1  50 

Hand-saw, 

. 1 50 

Back-saw, 

. x 25 

Square,  .... 

75 

40  lbs.  nails, 

. . 2 00 

200  tin  rabbets, 

3 o° 

40  yds.  good  duck,  at  20c. 

. . 8 00 

10  gals,  paint,  at  $2  00. 

. . 20  00 

2 gals,  boiled  oil,  at  65c. 

1 30 

2 gals,  turpentine,  at  55c. 

1 10 

Putty,  .... 

25 

15  good  oak  barrels,  at  $1  25. 

. 18  75 

$59  40 

These  barrels  were  for  extracted  honejr.  If  my 
bees  should  do  as  well  as  was  often  reported,  these 
barrels  would  not  be  sufficient  to  contain  the  honey. 
It  will  be  seen  before  this  record  is  finished,  that  I 
obtained  much  more  than  honey  enough  to  fill  the 
barrels,  and  was  compelled  to  order  more  in  July. 
The  barrels  were  to  be  made  at  the  end  of  two 
weeks,  the  cooper  being  quite  busy  just  then  on  a 
lot  of  flour-barrels  for  a neighboring  mill.  I con- 
sulted my  memoranda,  and  could  see  no  other 
article  needed,  except  some  scantling  and  boards 
from  which  to  make  bottom  boards  for  the  hives  to 
stand  on,  and  alighting  boards  on  which  the  incom- 
ing bees  could  alight  and  crawl  to  the  entrances 
to  the  hives.  This  lumber  I could  get  at  a mill 
near  home.  With  my  various  purchases  in  the 
sleigh,  with  the  promise  of  the  material  for  hives 
by  the  next  Friday,  and  the  barrels  in  two  weeks,  I 
felt  well  content  with  my  day’s  work.  It  was  five 


40 


THE  BLESSED  BEES. 


o’clock  before  we  were  ready  to  start  for  home. 
Then  Will  drove  at  a good  pace  over  the  smooth 
roads.  The  horses’  well-corked  shoes  struck  the 
hard  beaten  snow  with  a clear  triumphant  crack , 
most  exhilarating  to  hear.  A full  moon  lent  its 
bright  light,  sparkling  on  the  snowy  fields  with  rich 
suggestions  of  oriental  gems,  and  throwing  ghostly 
shadows  across  the  road  as  we  now  and  then  went 
through  a stretch  of  pine  or  oak  or  maple  forest. 
We  made  the  ten  miles  with  our  farm  horses  in  less 
than  an  hour  and  a half. 

It  was  agreed  that  Will  would  go  to  the  saw  mill 
near  us  on  the  next  Tuesday  after  school  and  get 
the  scantling  and  boards  for  bottom  boards,  then 
take  a half-holiday  on  Friday  afternoon  and  get  the 
hive  material  from  Howard.  We  should  then  be 
ready  for  work  in  making  and  painting  hives,  and 
could  employ  our  Saturdays  in  so  doing. 

But  one  thing  further  remained  for  me  to  do. 
My  bees  were  all  black  ones,  the  common  bee  of 
the  country.  My  study  of  bee  literature  had  con- 
vinced me  that  the  Italian  bee  was  much  to  be  pre- 
ferred because  more  industrious,  and  more  easily 
managed  in  consequence  of  its  greater  docility.6 
I had  carefully  studied  the  whole  subject  of  Italian- 
izing bees,  and  felt  confident  of  my  ability  to  do  it. 
The  sooner  my  common  stock  was  changed  for 
Italians,  the  larger  would  the  honey  harvest  be, 


BEGINNINGS. 


41 


and  the  greater  would  be  my  pleasure  among  the 
hives.  I thereupon  decided  to  Italianize  at  the 
earliest  practicable  time.  To  this  end  I at  once 
sent  out  several  letters  to  different  importers  of 
Italian  bees,  inquiring  for  what  sum  they  could 
send  me  one  strong  swarm  of  Italians  with  a 
selected  queen,  purity  and  safe  arrival  guaranteed. 
To  get  a selected  queen  in  the  early  spring  would 
cost  more  than  to  wait  and  get  one  later.  But  I 
could  not  afford  to  wait.  The  improvement  in  my 
stock  would  more  than  make  up  for  the  extra  ex- 
pense. In  a few  days  answers  began  to  arrive. 
The  dealers  were  not  eager  to  sell  selected  queens 
in  the  spring  ; they  could  make  more  by  breeding 
from  them  to  supply  the  growing  demand  for  Ital- 
ians. But  one  of  the  most  reliable  importers  had 
received  an  invoice  of  queens  late  the  previous  au- 
tumn, which  he  was  wintering.  He  would  give  me 
a warranted  swarm  of  pure  Italians,  with  a selected 
queen,  for  $20  00.  It  was  a large  sum  to  pay  for  a 
single  swarm  of  bees.  It  is  to  be  remembered  that 
this  was  several  years  ago.  They  are  cheaper  now. 
I could  get  the  selected  queen  alone  for  $10  00. 
The  queen  was  all  I really  needed,  and  if  I had 
been  an  expert  in  handling  bees,  I should  have  sent 
only  for  the  queen.  But  being  a beginner,  I felt 
there  was  some  risk  in  my  introducing  a valuable 
queen  to  one  of  my  black  stocks.  It  was  best  and 


42 


THE  BLESSED  BEES. 


most  economical  to  be  on  the  safe  side.  The  full 
swarm  was  ordered  to  be  sent  at  the  earliest  prac- 
ticable moment.  I then  felt  that  my  arrangements 
for  beginning  were  completed. 

The  whole  field  had  been  carefully  gone  over  time 
after  time,  and  calculations  made  as  to  what  was  es- 
sential. The  subject  had  so  possessed  me  that  for 
months  I had  lived  in  a land  of  bees.  The  expense 
of  beginning  may  look  somewhat  large,  to  those  not 
familiar  with  the  subject,  but  as  bee-culture  was  to 
be  my  profession  it  would  be  most  satisfactory  and 
economical  to  begin  right,  and  to  have  everything 
of  the  best  kind.  I had  now  expended : 


Bee  literature,  . 

$34 

65 

iq  swarms  black  bees, 

83 

00 

i swarm  Italians,  . 

20 

00 

Pattern  hive,  frames,  extractor,  etc. 

97 

00 

Freight  on  same,  . 

4 

60 

Material  for  1 50  hives, 

57 

00 

Tools,  paint,  duck,  barrels,  etc., 

59 

40 

Lumber  for  bottom  boards,  etc., 

3 

24 

$358 

89 

Before  any  practical  experience  in  bee-keeping, 
before  ever  having  opened  a movable-comb  hive,  I 
had  incurred  this  large  expense.  Many  will  call  it 
rash.  I shall  prove  that  in  my  case  it  was  wise. 
Still  I should  not  advise  this  course  generally,  for 
in  most  cases  it  will  lead  to  failure  and  disappoint- 
ment.7 It  can  only  succeed  where  there  has 
been  a most  careful  study  of  the  whole  subject, 


AT  WORK. 


43 


where  one  has  in  imagination  performed  every 
operation  in  the  art  of  modern  bee-keeping  until 
thoroughly  familiar  with  it,  and  where  there  is  a 
strong  determination  to  succeed  as  will  lead  to 
daily  attention  to  the  most  minute  details.  Even 
if  one  has  all  these  qualifications  he  cannot  succeed 
as  well  as  I did  unless  he  has  a location  equally 
good.  Bees  collect  honey  from  flowers.  If  there 
are  but  few  honey-producing  flowers  they  can  get 
but  little  honey.  If  there  is  an  abundance  of 
honey-producing  bloom  they  will,  if  wisely  man- 
aged, gather  very  large  quantities  indeed. 

The  next  Saturday  morning  Will  and  I began 
nailing  hives.  Thanks  to  our  father's  ideas  of  a 
practical  education,  we  both  knew  how  to  use  a 
hammer,  still  the  work  of  putting  hives  together 
was  new,  and  our  progress  was  slow  at  first.  There 
were  four  pieces  for  the  body  of  each  hive,  and  five 
for  the  lid.  These  were  to  be  most  accurately 
fitted  together,  and  thoroughly  nailed,  for  hives, 
exposed  constantly  to  storms  and  changes  of  tem- 
perature, are  liable  to  warp  and  split.  We  found 
that  the  cutting  out  had  been  done  in  a workman- 
like manner.  The  measurements  of  the  pieces  were 
exact,  and  all  fitted  together  perfectly.  It  was  best 
to  make  haste  slowly.  Speed  would  come  with 
practise.  So  we  did  not  hurry,  but  fitted  every 
piece  carefully  to  its  place,  and  put  every  nail  in 


44 


THE  BLESSED  BEES. 


well.  After  dinner,  mother  and  Lucy  came  to  the 
shop  to  look  on  for  an  hour,  for  the  whole  family 
partook  of  my  enthusiasm,  and  all  gave  cordial 
sympathy.  It  was  one  of  those  charming  days  that 
sometimes  come  as  harbingers  of  spring.  The  door 
of  the  shop  was  open  and  the  bright  sunshine 
streamed  across  the  floor.  The  pungent  fragrance 
of  the  pine  lumber  filled  the  air  with  a stimulating 
odor.  Our  hammers  kept  up  an  industrious  clatter. 
Mother  sat  upon  a finished  hive,  her  busy  fingers 
engaged  in  knitting.  Lucy  played  among  the  hives 
and  materials  in  happy,  girlish  ways.  It  was  a glad 
hour,  only  saddened  by  memories  of  him  who 
would  have  been  our  leader  and  inspirer,  now, 
alas,  in  bodily  presence,  to  give  us  help  no  more. 

When  night  came  Will  had  nailed  thirteen  hives 
and  I fifteen.  Having  acquired  some  deftness  in 
handling  the  pieces  we  thought  we  could  do  better 
in  future,  and  probably  finish  the  lot  in  about  four 
days.  My  school  closed  the  next  Friday,  March 
16th,  then  my  whole  time  was  given  to  the  hives, 
and  the  work  went  on  rapidly.  When  they  were 
all  nailed,  painting  was  begun.  The  paint  which 
had  been  procured  was  of  three  colors,  pure  white,  a 
dark  blue,  and  a brilliant  red.  The  different  colors 
would  aid  the  bees  in  marking  their  hives,  and 
would  have  a more  picturesque  effect  when  grouped 
in  the  orchard  than  if  all  were  one  color.  Besides 


AT  WORK. 


45 


red,  white,  and  blue  had  pleasant  patriotic  sugges- 
tions, and  it  is  well  to  be  patriotic  even  in  bee 
hives ! Each  hive  received  two  good  coats.  On 
April  5th,  the  last  one  was  painted,  and  the  next 
day  they  were  carefully  stored,  ready  for  use  when- 
ever wanted. 

The  bees  in  the  cellar  had  kept  well.  The  tem- 
perature had  been  steadily  cold,  and  the  cellar  had 
been  kept  generally  at  about  40  degrees.  The  time 
was  now  approaching  when  they  must  be  taken  out 
and  put  on  their  summer  stands,  for  on  some  days 
it  was  impossible  to  keep  the  cellar  at  a lower  tem- 
perature than  50  degrees.  The  hives  purchased 
had  been  grouped  in  the  orchard  in  the  places 
where  they  were  to  remain.  The  others  when 
taken  from  the  cellar  were  to  be  so  arranged  that 
the  whole  would  be  in  the  most  convenient  posi- 
tion for  work.  I determined  to  prepare  a place 
large  enough  for  200  swarms  of  bees,  should  I ever 
desire  to  keep  so  many  at  home. 

The  orchard  in  this  part  sloped  gently  to  the  south 
and  east.  The  rising  ground  at  the  rear  would  help 
to  break  the  force  of  the  winds,  but  as  additional 
protection  I decided  to  put  a tight  board  fence, 
seven  feet  high,  on  the  west,  north,  and  east  of  the 
part  devoted  to  bees.  A piece  one  hundred  feet 
square  was  laid  out.  For  the  three  sides  required 
300  feet  of  fence,  to  make  which  would  require  2100 


46 


THE  BLESSED  BEES. 


feet  of  board,  30  posts,  and  600  feet  of  two  by  four 
scantling.  This  material  was  all  bought  at  the 
nearest  mill,  at  a cost  of  $33  45  for  the  whole. 

A laborer  was  secured  at  a dollar  and  a quarter  a 
day  to  dig  the  holes  and  set  the  posts.  This  he 
did  in  two  days  and  a half.  The  rest  of  the  work  I 
did  myself,  and  soon  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  the 
bee-yard  nicely  inclosed.  Then  the  fence  was 
thoroughly  whitewashed,  both  for  looks  and  econ- 
omy. When  this  was  done  the  whole  cost  of  the 
fence  for  material,  labor,  and  white-wash  amounted 
to  $39  98.  The  fence  was  finished  April  12th.  The 
next  day  was  warm  and  bright.  About  ten  o’clock 
with  Will’s  help,  the  bees  were  taken  from  the  cel- 
lar and  set  on  their  summer  stands.  The  little  fel- 
lows, after  their  long  winter  in  darkness,  had  a gala 
day  indeed.  They  played  in  the  warm  sun  for 
hours  with  all  the  abandon  of  happy  children. 

They  seemed  in  perfect  condition.  At  evening  as 
I went  from  hive  to  hive,  I found  that  but  few  dead 
bees  had  been  brought  out,  as  the  bees  had  done 
their  spring  cleaning  and  tidied  up  their  houses  on 
this,  their  first  day  of  sunlight.  My  first  experience 
in  wintering  in  the  cellar  had  been  a success.  I found 
on  a subsequent  examination  that  those  which  had 
been  kept  in  the  cellar  were  much  stronger  in  bees 
than  those  I had  purchased,  which  had  been  win- 
tered in  the  open  air. 


AT  WORK. 


47 


It  was  not  best  to  begin  transferring  to  my  new 
hives  until  there  was  sufficient  bloom  for  the  bees 
to  be  busily  at  work.  The  alders  and  willows  had 
been  giving  a little  pollen,  to  the  bees  which  were 
in  the  open  air,  by  the  last  of  March.  Soft  maple 
and  silver  maple,  were  very  abundant.  They 
began  to  open  in  profusion  two  days  after  the 
hives  were  taken  from  the  cellar. 

Everything  was  now  prepared,  and  I had  time  to 
study  again  the  situation. 

From  what  my  father  had  said,  and  from  my  own 
observation,  I had  reason  to  think  the  location  a 
good  one  for  bee-keeping.  Our  farm  contained  80 
acres,  somewhat  rolling,  sloping  gradually  to  the 
east  and  south.  At  the  west  and  north  lay  an  ex- 
tensive tract  of  sugar-maple  woodland.  A few  rods 
south  of  the  house  ran  the  road  on  the  section  line. 
Beyond  the  road  was  a small  stream,  one  of  the 
branches  of  the  Muskegon  river.  The  stream  was 
bordered  on  both  sides  far  away  in  both  directions 
with  woods,  in  which  were  numerous  linn  or  bass- 
wood trees,  and  not  a few  willows  of  different 
species,  and  many  soft  and  silver  maples.  Further 
east  and  south  were  many  farms,  already  pretty  well 
under  cultivation.  Some  of  these  farms  had  or- 
chards just  coming  into  bearing;  all  of  them  had 
young  trees  set  out,  which  would  be  fruiting  in  a 
few  years.  Everywhere  in  meadows  and  pastures, 


43 


THE  BLESSED  BEES. 


along  the  fences  and  the  roadsides,  and  in  every 
neglected  corner  the  white-clover  grew  in  profusion. 
In  its  season  there  was  enough  of  it  to  afford  pas- 
turage to  ten  thousand  swarms  of  bees.  Nearly 
every  farm  had  its  patch  of  buckwheat  in  the  fall. 
In  every  direction  were  occasional  swamps  where 
boneset,  asters,  golden-rod,  and  coreopsis  gave  a 
wealth  of  fall  blossoms.  And  hearts-ease,  often 
called  smart-weed  which  in  looks  it  closely  resem- 
bles, was  sure  to  over-run  nearly  every  cultivated 
field  which  was  somewhat  neglected.  I could  thus 
count  on  good  pasturage  for  bees  from  willows, 
maples,  apple-blossoms,  and  raspberries  in  the  early 
part  of  the  season,  from  white-clover  and  linn  a few 
weeks  later,  from  buckwheat,  hearts-ease,  and  the 
profusion  of  swamp  flowers  in  the  fall.  In  these 
respects  no  location  could  have  been  better  for  my 
business.  Though  the  location  was  thus  desirable* 
perhaps  as  good  as  any  in  the  northern  states,  there 
were,  so  far  as  I could  learn,  three  periods  of  some 
days,  or  possibly  of  two  or  three  weeks  each,  during 
which  there  would  be  little  that  the  bees  could  do. 
After  sugar-maple  and  fruit-blossoms  until  the  be- 
ginning of  white-clover  the  pasturage  would  be  very 
meagre.  Then  from  the  end  of  the  linn  and  white- 
clover  bloom  until  buckwheat  and  other  fall  flowers 
began  to  open,  would  come  another  period  of  idle- 
ness. Finally  after  the  first  frosts  had  cut  off  the 


AT  WORK . 


49 


bloom,  so  that  scarcely  any  honey  could  be  gather, 
ed,  would  come  two  or  three  weeks  of  beautiful 
weather,  during  which  the  bees  would  have  no 
work.  These  times  of  enforced  idleness,  coming  at 
^periods  when  the  weather  is  usually  excellent  for 
the  bees  to  work,  seemed  to  me  a serious  drawback. 
If  one's  bees  could  work  every  pleasant  day,  from 
early  spring  until  late  in  the  fall,  the  honey  product 
would  be  immensly  increased.  It  was  a problem 
upon  which  I began  to  think  from  day  to  day  ; with 
what  success  will  be  seen  by  and  by. 

Satisfied  that  my  location  was  as  good  as  could 
be  found  in  the  north,  and  putting  aside  the  subject 
of  periods  of  enforced  idleness  as  one  of  the  ques- 
tions that  would  do  to  chew  upon,  I next  reviewed 
my  hives,  frames,  and  apparatus.  In  the  light  of 
all  that  I could  learn  from  books  and  bee  journals, 
my  arrangements  were  perfect,  except  that  I discov- 
ered two  or  three  omissions  in  purchasing.  The 
hives  must  be  set  perfectly  level,  if  I would  have 
the  combs  hang  true  in  the  frames.  For  this  pur- 
pose a spirit-level  was  needed.  While  extracting 
honey  the  extractor  would  need  to  stand  in  the 
work-shop  at  one  side  of  the  bee-yard.  Hence  the 
frames  must  be  carried  from  the  hives  to  the 
shop,  and  to  do  this  some  kind  of  a comb-carrier 
was  necessary.  The  Quinby  smoker8  would  be 
, of  use  only  as  there  was  material  for  it  to  make 


5o 


THE  BLESSED  BEES. 


smoke  from.  Old  cotton  cloth  tied  into  rolls  large 
enough  to  fit  loosely  in  the  barrel  of  the  smoker  is 
often  used  for  this  purpose.  But  rotten  wood,  es- 
pecially decayed  sugar-maple,  is  by  far  the  best 
material.  For  this  I should  not  have  far  to  seek  in 
the  great  maple  woods  near  us.  I went  one  day 
with  the  wagon,  and  in  two  hours  came  back  with 
fuel  enough  to  supply  the  smoker  for  several  years, 
— clean,  sweet  maple,  rotten  enough  to  cut  like 
cheese,  but  still  retaining  its  shape  perfectly. 

There  would  be  needed,  also,  molasses-gates,  or 
rather  honey-gates,  for  drawing  honey  from  the 
barrels,  and  an  auger  to  bore  holes  in  barrel-heads 
for  putting  in  the  gates.  I made  a drawing  of  a 
comb-carrier  to  be  made  of  tin,  large  enough  to  hold 
six  frames,  the  frames  to  hang  in  the  carrier  just  as 
they  hang  in  the  hive,  the  carrier  to  have  two  bails 
so  as  to  carry  easily  without  tilting,  even  if  it 
chanced  to  be  loaded  more  heavily  at  one  side  than 
the  other.  I went  to  Howard  and  instructed  a 
tinner  to  make  two  of  these  carriers;  then  made  the 
other  purchases,  including  a pair  of  good  scissors ; a 
small  butcher  knife  for  trimming  combs  when  trans- 
ferring; a kind  of  chisel-knife,  being  merely  a broad, 
thin  chisel,  twenty  inches  long,  having  a square  end 
sharpened  for  cutting  combs  from  the  sides  of  the 
old  hives  before  taking  to  pieces  ; a ball  of  strong 
cotton  twine ; and  an  atomizer,  the  use  of  which 


AT  WORK ; 51 

will  appear  by-and-b y.  These  purchases  made  quite 
an  additional  bill. 


Level, 

$1  50 

Scissors, 

75 

2 Comb-carriers, 

3 50 

15  Honey-gates,  at  50c. 

7 50 

Butcher-knife, 

50 

Auger, 

1 00 

Chisel-knife, 

50 

Atomizer, 

1 50 

Cord, 

20 

$16  95 

The  willows  had  given  some  pollen  since  the  last 
of  March,  and  the  bees  had  been  carrying  it  into  the 
hives  every  warm  day.  April  15th,  the  maples 
began  to  open,  the  weather  was  warm,  and  the  bees 
were  very  active.  The  next  day  being  equally 
pleasant  I determined  to  begin  transferring.  About 
ten  o’clock  when  many  of  the  bees  were  out  in  the 
woods,  I turned  one  of  the  box  hives  top  end  down 
and  set  upon  it  one  of  my  new  hives.  Then  wrap- 
ping a blanket  around  the  junction  of  the  two,  to 
stop  every  crevice  and  exclude  the  light,  I rapped 
smartly  with  a stick  on  the  outside  of  the  old  hive 
for  about  a minute  to  alarm  the  bees,  and  set  them 
to  filling  themselves  with  honey.  Then  keeping  up 
an  occasional  rap  I waited  for  about  ten  minutes, 
by  which  time  I judged  that  every  bee  had  gorged 
itself.  Then  I rapped  more  loudly  and  briskly  to 
drive  the  bees  from  the  lower  old  hive  up  into  the 
new  one.  In  ten  minutes  more  I lifted  off  the  new 


52 


THE  BLESSED  BEES. 


hive,  and  found  that  nearly  all  the  bees  had  left 
their  old  quarters  and  were  clustered  in  the  new 
hive.  The  new  hive  was  now  set  on  the  old  one’s 
stand,  so  that  the  returning  bees  would  find  a home, 
and  the  old  one  carried  to  the  shop. 

Most  box-hives  are  built  with  two  pieces  crossing 
each  other  at  right  angles  from  the  centres  of  oppo- 
site sides.  These  cross-pieces  I sawed  off  by  thrust- 
ing the  saw  down  close  up  to  the  side.  Then  with 
the  long  chisel-knife  the  combs  were  cut  free  from 
the  sides  of  the  hive  all  around,  so  as  to  leave  them 
attached  only  to  the  top  of  the  hive,  and  as  the  hive 
was  then  standing  on  its  top  the  combs  of  course 
would  be  left  standing  on  the  top,  if  the  sides  of  the 
hive  were  taken  away.  Then  with  a mallet  and  a 
strong  chisel  I pried  the  sides  apart,  took  them  off, 
and,  quicker  than  1 can  write  this  account,  had 
them  removed  and  the  combs  standing  upright  be- 
fore me.  Then  I ran  the  knife  along  the  top 
board,  loosened  the  first  comb,  and  laid  it  on  a table 
which  had  been  covered  with  a woolen  blanket  so 
as  not  to  bruise  the  young  brood.  Then  an  empty 
frame  was  laid  on  the  comb  and  with  a very  thin, 
keen  knife  the  comb  was  cut  the  size  of  the  frame. 
This  comb  was  then  fastened  into  the  frame  by 
simply  tying  two  cotton  cords  from  top  to  bottom 
around  the  frame  at  about  three  inches  from  each 
end.  In  a moment  this  frame  was  ready  and  hung 


AT  WORK ; 


S3 


in  a comb-carrier  placed  handy  to  receive  it.  Then 
another  comb  was  taken,  and  so  on  until  all  had 
been  fitted  into  frames.  The  old  hives  were  about 
twenty  inches  high,  and  were  filled  with  comb  to  the 
bottom.  My  frames  were  about  io ^ inches  square 
inside  measure,  hence  after  filling  a frame  with  the 
top  part  of  one  of  the  old  combs  there  was  a piece 
left  nearly  large  enough  to  fill  another  frame.  At 
this  early  period  of  the  year  these  lower  ends  of  the 
old  combs  have  neither  brood  nor  honey.  I care- 
fully put  them  into  frames  and  stored  them  away 
for  future  use.  Thus  I had  a full  frame  and  a 
frame  nearly  full  from  each  of  the  old  combs. 
There  was  plenty  of  honey  in  the  hive  for  all  possi- 
ble needs  of  the  bees,  and  towards  the  tops  of  the  cen- 
tral combs  there  was  a fine  patch  of  brood,  some  of 
it  already  sealed  and  hatching,  so  that  from  this 
first  old  hive  I got  five  frames  of  brood.  In  taking 
the  hive  to  pieces  one  comb  had  become  badly 
broken,  this  with  all  the  trimmings  and  crooked 
pieces  of  comb  were  carefully  put  aside.  I took 
pains  to  sort  the  comb  as  much  as  possible,  putting 
the  worker  comb  in  frames  separate  from  the  drone 
comb.  Of  course  it  was  not  always  possible  to 
avoid  having  the  two  kinds  of  comb  in  the  same 
frame,  but  I made  as  many  frames  of  almost  pure 
worker  comb  as  somewhat  rapid  working  on  my 
part  would  allow.  From  this  hive  I filled  ten  frames 
full,  and  had  six  frames  nearly  full. 


54 


THE  BLESSED  BEES . 


When  my  ten  frames,  including  the  five  contain- 
ing brood,  were  ready  they  were  carried  out  to  the 
bees  in  their  new  hive.  When  I opened  this  hive, 
and  began  to  hang  in  the  frames  of  comb  and  brood 
the  bees  eagerly  clustered  upon  them.  I found 
that  in  an  hour  and  twenty  minutes  from  the  time 
of  beginning  the  first  hive  the  transfer  was  nicely 
finished  up.  Another  hive  was  finished  before 
dinner.  As  my  new  hives  had  lids  and  were  not 
the  same  shape  as  the  old  ones,  it  was  not  conven- 
ient to  place  them  on  the  old  ones  to  drum  the 
bees  into  them.  So  I took  the  old  hive  from  which 
I had  first  transferred,  cut  it  down  to  ten  inches 
high,  nailed  the  pieces  again,  and  used  this  for  a 
drumming-box.  It  was  set  on  the  old  hive,  the  bees 
drummed  into  it,  then  it  was  set  on  the  stand  while 
I was  transferring  the  combs.  The  combs  were 
then  properly  arranged  in  a new  hive,  a piece  of 
duck  just  the  size  of  the  hive  nicely  spread  over 
the  frames,  the  new  hive  was  taken  out,  the  drum- 
ming-box removed  from  the  stand  and  the  hive  set 
on.  A sheet  was  then  spread  in  front  of  the  hive 
and  the  bees  shaken  from  the  drumming-box  upon 
the  sheet.  The  scent  of  the  comb  at  once  attracted 
them  to  the  hive,  aud  they  crawled  rapidly  in. 

By  four  o’clock  that  day  I had  transferred  five 
swarms.  It  was  a very  good  day’s  work  for  a begin- 
ner. Hard  work  it  was,  too,  and  night  found  me  very 


AT  WORK. 


55 


tired.  I had  never  seen  a swarm  of  bees  transferred. 
I knew  nothing  about  it  except  what  the  books  and 
journals  told  me.  But  in  mind  I had  many  times 
carefully  gone  over  the  whole  process,  so  that  when 
the  time  came  for  real  work  I had  a theoretical 
familiarity  with  it.  I knew  exactly  how  I wanted 
to  do  it.  I had  prepared  every  cord  ; every  tool 
was  in  perfect  order,  and  in  its  place  ; the  hives  and 
frames  were  exactly  right.  But  it  is  practise  only 
that  can  make  perfect.  In  spite  of  all  my  care  some 
confusion  would  creep  in.  Tools  and  material 
would  get  out  of  place.  My  movements  were  slow 
and  awkward.  So  I was  very  weary  with  my  first 
day  of  actual  work  among  the  bees.  All  before  this 
had  been  preparation.  Now  had  come  the  real 
work,  and  it  was  not  all  poetry  by  any  means.  To 
lift  and  carry  hives  required  muscle.  To  handle  the 
combs  with  hands  sticky  with  honey  was  not  pleas- 
ant. To  work  quietly  and  rapidly  with  innumerable 
bees  flying  around,  and  not  a few  creeping  over 
one’s  clothing,  required  a certain  nerve.  Prof.  Cook 
had  said  in  his  book  that  nobody  need  be  stung. 
Some  of  the  writers  in  the  journals  had  made  light 
of  stings.  Perhaps  if  one  could  begin  bee-keeping 
already  possessed  of  the  experience  of  a veteran,  he 
need  not  get  stung.  But  experience  can  come  only 
with  actual  work  among  bees.  A beginner  is  almost 
sure  to  get  stung  somewhat.  If  he  is  intelligent, 


THE  BLESSED  BEES . 


56 

cautious,  and  self-possessed  he  need  get  stung  but 
little.  A few  stings,  however,  have  a way  of  so 
making  themselves  felt  that  the  person  stung  is 
willing  to  affirm  that  their  name  is  legion.  My 
swollen  hands  this  first  night  testified  that  I had 
received  a portion  of  the  discipline  a beginner  must 
expect.  I applied  hartshorn  liniment,  wrapped  my 
hands  in  cloths  wet  in  cold  water,  went  to  bed,  and 
forgot  stings  in  sound  sleep. 

The  next  day  I transferred  six,  and  after  that 
seven  a day  until  all  were  in  their  new  hives.  The 
whole  job  was  finished  before  noon  on  the  sixth  day. 

When  all  was  done  I had  the  thirty-six  swarms  of 
bees  with  an  average  of  ten  frames  of  good  comb  to 
each  swarm,  and  one  hundred  and  eighty-seven 
frames  more,  nearly  or  quite  full  of  comb.  Some  of 
these  frames  were  filled  with  pieces  of  comb  which 
had  been  carefully  fitted  together,  and  I found  after- 
wards that  such  frames  were  nearly  as  good  as  those 
filled  with  a single  perfect  comb.  The  bees  fastened 
the  pieces  together,  and  used  them  readily  for  both 
honey  and  brood. 

It  was  Saturday  night,  April  22d,  that  I found  my 
preliminary  work  was  done.  The  bees  were  in  their 
new  homes  and  working  merrily.  The  frames  of 
comb  not  then  needed  by  the  bees  were  neatly  stored 
in  empty  hives.  The  lot  of  broken  combs,  nearly 
filling  a barrel,  were  ready  for  melting  into  wax.  I 


AT  WORK . 


57 


felt  now  that  I was  fairly  launched  in  my  Kfe-work. 

I sat  in  the  orchard  in  the  genial  April  twilight, 
looked  over  my  hives,  planned  for  the  work  that 
was  to  come,  and  heartly  enjoyed  the  peaceful  still- 
ness. In  that  evening  hour  the  hives  were  all  silent, 
but  I knew  that  on  the  morrow  the  tens  of  thou- 
ands  of  workers  would  be  foraging  with  busy  hum 
in  the  maple  forest  to  gather  honey  for  themselves 
and  me. 

Just  then  Will  came  from  the  post-office  with  a 
letter.  It  was  a notice  from  the  express  agent 
at  Howard  that  a hive  of  bees  addressed  to  me  was 
in  his  hands.  The  Italians  had  arrived  ; my  transfer- 
ring was  done  none  too  soon.  Attention  must  now 
be  given  to  the  important  work  of  raising  Italian 
queens,  and  introducing  them  to  my  black  stocks. 


V. 


ITALIANIZING. 

On  Monday  morning  at  four  o’clock  I was  off 
for  Howard  with  the  light  spring  wagon.  At  seven 
o’clock  the  express  office  was  reached,  and  the  hive 
was  received,  apparently  in  good  condition.  The  day 
was  warm  and  the  bees  naturally  seemed  anxious  to 
get  out,  many  of  them  crowding  to  the  ventilating 
holes,  which  had  been  covered  with  wire-cloth.  The 
expressage  was  three  dollars,  making  the  hive  of 
Italians  cost  me  twenty-three  dollars.  But  they  had 
a selected  queen,  imported  from  Italy  the  previous 
fall,  and  if  I was  at  all  successful  in  rearing  queens 
from  her  she  would  be  worth  to  me  at  least  a hun- 
dred dollars  the  first  season,  and  indefinite  hundreds 
in  seasons  following. 

Soon  after  seven  o’clock  my  good  horses  were  on 
the  track  toward  home,  which  was  reached  before 
eleven.  The  bees  were  at  once  taken  to  a stand 
which  had  been  prepared  for  them,  and  the  entrance 
to  the  hive  opened.  They  crowded  out  with  eager- 
ness, and  played  in  the  sunny  air  with  much  joy. 
The  hive  had  come  from  several  degrees  further 
58 


ITALIANIZING . 


59 


south  than  my  place,  where  the  season  was  somewhat 
earlier,  and  I was  delighted  with  seeing  a few  drones 
among  the  first  to  fly  out.  My  first  work  with  the 
Italians  must  be  to  secure  a good  supply  of  pure 
drones. 

The  Italians  had  come  in  a hive  of  different  pat- 
tern from  mine,  having  a frame  longer  and  shallower. 
Against  this  frame  I have  not  a word  to  say,  for  in 
the  hands  of  many  intelligent  bee-keepers  it  has 
given  excellent  results ; but  in  order  to  work  with 
ease  and  profit  it  was  essential  to  have  all  my  bees 
in  hives  of  the  same  kind.  I therefore  went  at  once 
to  work  to  transfer  them  to  one  of  my  hives.  When 
the  hive  was  opened  the  frames  were  found  all 
right.  They  had  been  securely  fastened  at  both  top 
and  bottom  so  that  there  could  be  no  shaking  about 
while  on  the  journey.  After  removing  the  fasten- 
ings the  frames  were  lifted  from  the  hive,  and  the 
bees  shaken  back  into  the  hive.  Then  the  frames 
were  carried  to  the  shop  to  transfer  the  combs. 
There  were  ten  frames  of  good  comb.  Six  of  the 
frames  had  each  a nice  patch  of  brood,  which  did 
not  seem  to  have  been  injured  by  the  journey.  A 
part  of  this  was  drone  brood,  some  of  which  was 
hatching.  It  took  but  a few  minutes  to  transfer  the 
combs  to  my  frames.  In  doing  this  I noticed  in 
one  of  the  combs  a number  of  fresh-laid  eggs,  assur- 
ing me  that  the  queen  was  all  right.  In  transferring 


6o 


THE  BLESSED  BEES. 


I had  put  the  drone  brood  in  two  frames,  which  I 
took  to  one  of  my  strongest  black  stocks,  and  in- 
serted them  in  the  centre,  in  place  of  two  frames  of 
brood  which  were  taken  out  and  given  to  one  of  the 
weak  stocks.  The  remaining  combs  from  the  Italian 
hive  I put  in  one  of  my  hives,  carried  it  out  and  set 
it  where  the  old  hive  was,  spread  a sheet  in  front 
and  shook  the  bees  from  the  old  hive  upon  it. 
They  at  once  began  to  crawl  to  the  hive,  and  I sat 
down  and  watched  carefully,  hoping  to  get  a sight 
of  my  new  and  precious  queen.  She  was  easily 
found,  and  gave  me  much  satisfaction,  being  large, 
healthy-looking,  and  light-colored.  All  the  bees  in 
the  hive  seemed  to  be  pure  Italians,  being  distinctly 
marked  with  the  three  brilliant  orange  bands  on  the 
abdomen. 

Having  now  the  pure  imported  Italian  queen  my 
object  was  to  rear  young  queens  from  her  eggs,  and 
to  insure  their  fertilization  by  drones  raised  from 
her  eggs,  then  my  queens  being  pure,  and  fertilised 
by  pure  drones,  all  their  progeny  would  be  pure 
Italians,  and  so  in  a few  weeks  after  introducing 
these  young  queens  to  my  black-stocks  all  my  bees 
would  be  pure  Italians,  for  in  the  working  season 
the  worker-bee  lives  only  about  six  weeks.9  The  old 
ones  die  off,  and  their  places  are  taken  by  the  young 
bees  raised  in  the  hive.  If,  then,  in  every  hive 
there  was  a pure  Italian  queen,  depositing  eggs,  the 


ITALIANIZING. 


6l 


pure  bees  grown  from  these  eggs  would  supply  the 
places  of  the  black-bees  as  they  gradually  died  off. 
Where  one  has  black  bees,  or  where  there  are  black 
bees  kept  in  the  near  vicinity,  there  is  no  certainty 
that  the  queens  will  mate  with  Italian  drones. 
On  about  the  fifth  day  after  hatching,  the  young 
queens  leave  the  hive  for  their  wedding  journey. 
They  simply  take  a flight  in  the  air  for  the  purpose 
of  meeting  the  drone.  Having  met  him,  they  return 
to  the  hive,  never  to  leave  it  again,  except  they 
should  lead  out  a swarm.  Now  if  black  drones  are 
numerous,  it  is  quite  probable  the  queens  will  mate 
with  them,  then,  however  pure-blooded  the  queens 
may  be,  their  progeny  will  be  hybrids.  Upon  the 
problem  of  securing  pure  fertilization  for  the  young 
queens  I intended  to  rear  from  the  imported  Italian 
mother,  I had  studied  a good  deal  for  the  past  three 
months. 

To  grow  the  young  queens  from  the  eggs  of 
the  pure  mother  was  easy.  But  if  I had  the 
numerous  black  drones  which  my  thirty-six  hives 
of  black  bees  would  soon  produce,  flying  in  pursuit 
of  my  beautiful  young  Italian  virgins,  when  they 
went  out  for  their  marriage  flight,  it  would  not  be 
easy  to  secure  their  pure  fertilization ; indeed  it 
would  be  impossible.  About  the  time  I sent  for  the 
swarm  of  Italians  I had  hit  upon  a plan  which 
seemed  possible.  I determined  to  make  it  succeed 


62 


THE  BLESSED  BEES. 


so  far  as  my  work  and  care  could  control  success. 
These  are  the  data  of  my  plan : 

1.  No  bees  of  any  kind  were  kept  by  any  person 
nearer  to  me  than  four  miles.  One  farmer  four 
miles  away  had  a few  swarms  of  black  bees,  but 
there  seemed  little  probability  that  my  young 
queens  would  meet  drones  from  his  hives. 

2.  So  far  as  I could  learn  there  were  no  wild  bees 
in  the  woods  in  that  neighborhood.  No  bee-trees 
had  ever  been  found.  Still  the  fear  of  wild  bees 
gave  me  some  uneasiness,  for  should  there  chance  to 
be  a few  swarms  of  wild  bees  in  hollow  trees  along 
the  stream,  within  a mile  or  two,  they  might  se- 
riously interfere  with  my  plans.  My  only  course 
was  to  assume  that  there  were  none,  and  go  on. 

3.  The  only  black  drones,  then,  against  which  I 
must  guard  were  those  which  my  own  hives  would 
produce.  It  seemed  to  me  that  this  could  be  done, 
and  in  my  transferring  it  had  been  constantly  kept 
in  mind. 

4.  It  will  be  remembered  that  I spoke  in  the  pre- 
vious chapter  about  keeping  the  worker-comb  and 
the  drone-comb,  as  far  as  possible,  in  separate  frames. 
I had  then  carefully  selected  a number  of  the  fine 
combs,  in  which  drone-cells  were  most  abundant, 
and  put  them  in  frames  by  themselves.  From  the 
frames  containing  brood  I had  carefully  cut  all  the 
patches  of  drone-brood,  and  all  capped  drone-cells, 


ITALIANIZING. 


63 


which  were  not  thus  cut  out,  I had  mercilessly  be- 
headed with  a small  sharp  knife.  Then  in  giving 
frames  of  comb  to  my  hives  after  transferring,  I had 
given  them  only  frames  containing  worker-comb, 
and  perhaps  a few  drone-cells  scattered  here  and 
there. 

5.  All  persons  know  that  bees  kill  off  their  drones 
in  the  fall,  and  raise  new  ones  in  the  spring  before 
they  will  be  needed.  My  hives,  then,  on  the  day  I 
gave  them  their  combs  after  transferring,  had  no 
hatched  drones,  they  had  no  capped  drone-brood, 
and  they  had  but  few  drone-cells  in  any  of  their 
combs.  It  was  possible  that  in  some  of  these  few 
drone-cells  there  were  drone  larvae  just  ready  to  cap. 
Unless  I could  guard  against  these  possible  drones 
they  would  probably  give  me  trouble. 

6.  After  drone  brood  has  been  capped  over  it  is 
at  least  fourteen  days  before  it  hatches.  Assuming 
that  there  were  some  drone  larvae,  just  ready  to  be 
capped,  in  the  frames  when  they  were  given  to  the 
bees  after  transferring,  this  brood  would  hatch  out 
on  the  fourteenth  day  after.  If,  now,  on  the  thir- 
teenth day  after,  I examined  each  comb,  and  be- 
headed every  capped  drone  in  his  cell,  there  would 
be  no  danger  of  any  black  drones  appearing  within 
another  two  weeks,  when  I could  again  examine 
and  behead.  This  course  involved  a good  deal  of 
care  and  labor  in  looking  over  the  combs  two  or 


THE  BLESSED  BEES . 


64 

three  times,  and  beheading  the  drone  brood,  but  I 
determined  to  adopt  it,  for  I could  see  no  other  way 
of  securing  purely  fertilized  queens  the  first  year. 

7.  If  a hive  of  bees,  at  any  season  of  the  year 
when  there  are  eggs  or  larvae  not  more  than  three 
days  old  in  the  combs,  be  deprived  of  its  queen,  the 
bees  will  at  once  proceed  to  supply  themselves  with 
a new  queen.  This  they  do  by  constructing  a num- 
ber of  queen-cells,  usually  from  five  to  twelve,  into 
each  of  which  they  put  a worker  egg  or  a worker 
larva,  and  then  feed  this  with  a peculiar  kind  of  food 
called  royal  jelly,  whereupon  this  egg  or  larva, 
which  if  left  in  a worker  cell  and  fed  upon  worker 
food  would  have  grown  to  be  a worker-bee,  develops 
into  a queen-bee.  Eight  days  from  the  laying  of 
the  egg  this  young  queen  arrives  at  the  age  when 
the  workers  seal  her  up  in  her  cell,  to  undergo  her 
final  transformation.  On  the  sixteenth  day  from 
the  egg  the  young  queens  are  full  grown,  and,  if  un- 
disturbed, will  come  out  perfect  queens.  At  any 
time,  between  sealing  up  and  hatching,  the  queen- 
cells  may  be  taken  from  the  hive,  and,  if  inserted  in 
another  queenless  hive,  will  usually  be  accepted  and 
allowed  to  hatch.  The  cells  may  also  be  hatched 
by  artificial  heat. 

8.  I had  the  few  drones  which  had  hatched  in  the 
Italian  hive  before  its  arrival,  and  the  few  that 
would  hatch  from  day  to  day  from  the  two  frames 


ITALIANIZING . 


65 


of  drone  brood  which  I had  taken  from  the  Italians 
and  given  to  the  hive  of  blacks.  But  I feared  these 
drones  were  too  few.  Hence  my  first  thought  was 
to  secure  more  pure  drones  from  the  eggs  of  the 
royal  lady  from  Italy.  To  this  end  I opened  the 
hive  of  Italians  just  before  sunset  on  the  day  of  its 
arrival,  and  inserted  in  the  very  midst  of  the  frames 
containing  brood  one  of  the  frames  of  drone  comb 
prepared  when  1 was  transferring.  The  next  even- 
ing I examined  this  frame  and  finding  it  had  eggs 
in  a large  number  of  cells,  I gave  it  to  a good  colony 
of  blacks,  and  inserted  in  its  place  another  frame  of 
drone  comb.  This  I did  for  three  days  in  succession, 
getting  as  many  frames,  each  supplied  with  about 
two  thousand  drone  eggs,  which  frames  were  given 
to  as  many  black  stocks.  In  addition  to  laying  the 
drone  eggs  in  these  frames  the  Italian  queen  had  de- 
posited not  a few  eggs  in  the  outer  margins  of  the 
four  frames  containing  brood,  mentioned  above  as 
having  been  found  when  the  combs  were  transferred. 
And  she  had  laid  a number  of  eggs  also  in  two 
other  frames,  so  that  on  the  evening  of  April  27th 
there  were  six  frames  containing  eggs  and  larvae. 
The  queen  would  not  have  laid  so  many  eggs  if  I 
had  not  stimulated  her  by  feeding  the  hive  every 
night  with  about  a pound  of  pure  sugar  syrup.  The 
bees  gathered  some  honey  and  plenty  of  pollen 
from  the  willows  and  maples  during  the  day,  and 


66 


THE  BLESSED  BEES , 


then  having  the  feed  of  syrup  at  night  the  whole 
hive  had  been  excited  to  such  activity  that  the  good 
queen  had  been  roused  to  do  her  best  in  laying  eggs, 

9.  I had  now  made  provision  for  an  abundant 
supply  of  drones.  Two  frames  of  pure  worker  comb 
were  now  put  in  the  centre  of  the  Italian  hive,  and 
the  hive  then  left  undisturbed  for  three  days. 

Worker  eggs  and  worker  larvae  in  as  many  frames 
as  possible,  were  what  I wanted  now  from  the  Ital- 
ians, for  from  their  eggs  and  larvae  I would  grow  my 
new  queens.  These  new  queens  were  not  to  be 
grown  in  the  Italian  hive,  for  I could  not  force  the 
Italians  to  build  queen-cells  unless  I took  away  their 
queen.  If  I took  away  their  queen  I must  introduce 
her  to  one  of  my  black  stocks.  As  a beginner  is 
not  always  skillful  in  introducing,  he  may  so  do  it 
that  the  bees  will  not  receive  the  queen,  but  will 
kill  her  and  cast  her  from  the  hive.  I was  not 
willing  to  run  this  risk  with  my  costly  imported 
queen.  And  it  was  not  at  all  necessary  to  run  the 
risk,  for  the  new  queens  could  just  as  well  be  grown 
in  hives  of  black  bees,  provided  I killed  their  queen 
and  took  from  them  all  their  own  frames  of  comb, 
and  gave  them  frames  of  eggs  and  larvae  from  the 
Italian  hive.  They  would  then  have  no  eggs  or 
larvae  except  what  had  come  from  the  imported 
mother,  hence  the  queens  they  would  grow  would 
all  be  pure  Italians.  A common  dung-hill  fowl 


ITALIANIZING. 


67 

will  hatch  the  finest  Brahma  eggs,  and  care  for  the 
chickens.  So  black  bees  will  take  care  of  pure  Ital- 
ian eggs,  and  rear  from  such  eggs  pure  Italian 
queens. 

10.  April  28th  was  the  thirteenth  day  from  the 
beginning  of  the  transferring.  It  was  possible  that 
by  the  next  day  a few  black  drones  would  begin  to 
hatch  from  those  stocks  first  transferred.  I was 
prepared  to  begin  the  exterminating  war  against 
these  black  drones.  Will  was  called  in  to  help. 
We  had  a hard  day’s  work  before  us.  We  desired 
to  work  rapidly,  and  not  to  be  in  danger  of  stings. 
Our  trowsers  were  tucked  into  our  boots,  so  that  no 
bees  could  crawl  up  our  legs.  We  discarded  coats 
for  the  day,  and  wore  woolen  shirts  instead,  so  that 
there  could  be  no  crawling  of  bees  under  the  coats, 
up  our  backs  and  around  our  necks.  Close-fitting 
gloves  were  put  on,  which  buttoned  tightly  around 
the  wrists  over  the  wristbands  of  our  shirts.  Then 
putting  on  the  bee-veils,  we  were  quite  proof 
against  the  most  vigorous  onsets  of  any  angry  bees. 
Such  close  protection  is  usually  quite  unnecessary. 

I now  go  among  my  hives  fearlessly,  with  neither 
gloves  nor  veil.  But  then  I had  little  experience,  and 
it  was  easier  and  pleasanter  to  protect  oneself  than 
endure  the  discomfort  and  delay  which  even  a few 
stings  might  cause.  The  smoker  was  ready,  and 
plenty  of  fuel  to  fill  it  as  often  as  necessary.  At 


68 


THE  BLESSED  BEES. 


8 o'clock  I blew  some  smoke  in  at  the  entrance  of  a 
hive.  After  waiting  a few  minutes  a second  hive 
was  smoked,  that  these  bees  might  be  filling  them- 
selves while  the  first  was  being  examined.  Bees,  if 
alarmed  by  smoke  or  in  any  other  way,  at  once  fill 
themselves  with  honey,  and  when  thus  full  of  honey 
they  are  very  quiet,  having  little  disposition  to 
sting.  Then  seating  ourselves  on  low  stools  at  the 
side  of  the  hive,  so  that  my  left-hand  was  next  the 
hive,  the  lid  was  taken  off.  I lifted  the  first  frame 
with  my  left  hand,  rested  the  bottom  of  it  on  the 
edge  of  the  hive,  and  glanced  quickly  over  the  side 
of  the  comb  towards  me.  My  right-hand  was  free, 
and  held  a keen  knife  with  which  I rapidly  beheaded 
every  capped  drone-cell.  Will  did  the  beheading 
on  the  other  side.  On  some  combs  we  found  a few 
drone-cells,  but  most  of  them  had  none  at  all.  In 
nine  minutes  from  the  time  we  sat  down,  every 
frame  in  the  first  hive  had  been  examined,  drones 
beheaded,  frames  replaced,  and  hive  shut.  Then, 
first  blowing  smoke  into  the  third,  we  opened  the 
second.  So  we  kept  on,  and  in  little  more  than  six 
hours  and  a half  we  had  gone  over  all  the  hives, 
averaging  about  1 1 minutes  to  a hive.  As  we  ex- 
amined those  hives  containing  the  inserted  frames 
of  Italian  drone  eggs  and  brood,  I noticed  that  they 
were  all  in  good  condition. 

There  was  no  danger  of  any  black  drones  appear- 


ITALIANIZING. 


69 


ing  under  14  days,  when  I would  again  examine, 
and  behead.  The  drones  from  the  first  two  frames 
of  Italian  brood  were  becoming  more  numerous 
every  day.  As  it  takes  24  days  from  the  egg  for 
drones  to  come  forth,  the  frame  of  drone  eggs  ob- 
tained from  the  Italians  on  the  24th  of  April,  would 
have  hatching  drones  on  the  18th  of  May.  Drones 
would  be  coming  from  the  other  frames  on  follow- 
ing days.  It  takes  16  days  from  the  egg  for  a queen 
bee  to  hatch  out.  Five  days  after  hatching  she  will 
fly  out  to  meet  the  drone,  that  is  in  21  days  from 
the  egg  she  is  ready  for  her  marriage  flight.  If 
measures  were  taken  on  the  1st  of  May,  to  force  the 
bees  to  rear  queens,  the  queen  cells  would  not  be 
begun  before  the  next  day,  and  some  of  them  would 
be  built  on  following  days.  Hence  if  the  bees 
should  rear  queens  from  the  eggs,  the  first  ones 
would  be  ready  for  the  drones  May  22d.  But  in  all 
probability  they  would  rear  some  of  the  queens 
from  larvae  two  or  three  days  old,  and  such  ones 
would  come  forth  two  or  three  days  earlier.  Thus 
it  was  probable  that  if  I began  queen-rearing  May 
1st,  some  of  the  earliest  queens  would  be  ready  for 
the  drones  May  19th  and  20th,  just  when  my  drones 
would  be  coming  out.  This  was  what  I wanted. 
On  the  afternoon  of  May  1st,  I made  arrangements 
to  force  two  hives  of  black  bees  to  rear  queens  from 
Italian  eggs  or  larvse. 


70 


THE  BLESSED  BEES . 


Two  of  what  seemed  to  be  the  strongest,  most 
prosperous  swarms  of  blacks  were  selected.  I look- 
ed over  the  frames  of  one  until  the  queen  was  found 
and  beheaded.  Then  the  frames  were  lifted  from 
the  hive,  one  after  another,  the  bees  shaken  back 
into  the  hive,  and  the  frames  taken  away,  leaving 
not  a particle  of  its  own  comb  in  the  hive.  The 
same  was  done  for  the  second  selected  swarm. 
Then  I took  from  the  Italian  hive  the  frames  con- 
taining eggs  and  larvae,  of  which  there  were  eight, 
shook  all  the  bees  back  into  the  hive,  and  carried 
the  frames  to  the  hives  of  blacks  which  had  just 
been  deprived  of  their  own  combs.  Taking  a sharp 
knife  I cut  off  a small  portion  of  the  lower  and  side 
margins  of  the  Italian  combs,  and  then  cut  deep 
notches  in  the  newly  cut  margins.  This  brought 
newly  cut  edges  of  comb  right  among  the  eggs  and 
larvae,  thus  giving  the  bees  the  best  conditions  for 
construction  of  queen  cells.  Then  four  of  these 
frames  were  put  into  each  of  the  selected  hives  of 
blacks,  and  three  frames  of  empty  comb  were  put 
in  with  them.  All  the  bees  were  crowded  on  these 
seven  frames  so  as  to  make  a smaller  hive  very  full 
of  bees,  insuring  the  rapid  construction  of  queen- 
cells,  the  most  careful  nursing  of  the  queen  larvae, 
and  that  high  temperature  in  the  hive  which  is  best 
for  the  growth  of  bees.  Then  I had  done  all  in  my 
power  to  facilitate  queen-rearing.  The  hives  were 


ITALIANIZING. 


7 1 


shut  with  a determination  that  I would  not  open 
them  until  the  12th  day,  when  it  would  be  necessary 
to  remove  from  each  queen-rearing  hive  all  the  queen- 
cells  but  one,  and  to  give  one  queen-cell  to  each  of 
the  nucleus  hives  prepared  for  their  reception.  To 
stimulate  these  queen-rearing  hives  to  the  greatest 
activity  I fed  each  of  them  about  a half  pound  of 
pure  sugar  syrup  every  night  for  five  nights.  I 
have  since  learned  that  at  that  season  they  would 
have  done  just  as  well  without  this.  After  these 
two  hives  had  been  arranged  for  queen-rearing, 
twelve  frames  of  the  brood  which  had  been  taken 
from  them  were  given  to  the  Italians,  in  which  they 
gladly  went  to  work.  The  other  frames,  taken  from 
the  queen-rearing  hives,  were  distributed  among  my 
weakest  stocks.  It  had  been  a hard  day’s  work,  not 
finished  until  7 o’clock.  Then  I went  early  to  bed, 
and  dreamed  of  virgin  Italian  queens  flying  in  terror 
from  pursuing  hordes  of  headless  drones. 

The  next  day  I began  to  arrange  the  nucleus 
hives.  A nucleus  hive  is  a hive  for  a small  swarm 
of  bees,  usually  two  or  three  frames.  Where  any 
number  of  young  queens  are  reared  they  are  usually 
hatched  in  nuclei,  but  the  queen  cells  are  not  grown 
in  them.  To  insure  the  best  queens,  the  cells  must 
be  grown  in  strong  swarms ; but  after  they  are 
capped  they  may  be  hatched  in  nuclei.  Often 
small  hives  are  made  especially  for  nucleus  swarms. 


72 


THE  BLESSED  BEES. 


This  is  usually  the  case  where  long  and  shallow 
frames  are  used.  But  with  my  small  square 
Gallup  frame,  I could  use  the  regular  hives  and 
frames  for  the  nuclei.  When  the  regular  hives  are 
used  for  nuclei,  it  is  much  easier  to  build  up  these 
nuclei  into  regular  swarms.  After  your  young 
queens  are  hatched  and  fertilized,  if  you  want  to  in- 
crease the  number  of  your  swarms,  you  have  only 
to  take  frames  of  the  hatching  brood  from  your 
strong  stocks  and  give  them  to  these  nuclei.  The 
brood  will  hatch  and  be  at  home  in  the  nucleus,  and 
so  each  nucleus  is  rapidly  built  up  into  a strong 
stock.  My  object  now  was  not  to  increase  the 
number  of  my  swarms,  but  to  obtain  fertile  Italian 
queens,  to  give  to  my  black  stocks.  Making  allow- 
ance for  the  loss  of  a few  queens  when  they  went 
on  their  marriage  flight,  or  from  my  inexperience 
in  introducing  them  to  the  blacks,  I concluded  to 
make  arrangements  to  hatch  forty  cells.  Forty  of 
the  empty  hives  were  suitably  provided  with  di- 
vision boards,  which  could  be  moved  back  and  forth 
in  the  hives,  and  so  contract  one  end  to  as  small 
proportions  as  desired,  and  were  then  properly  lo- 
cated in  the  orchard.  Then,  while  waiting  for  the 
queen-cells  to  be  capped,  there  was  time  for  other 
work  among  the  hives  that  were  gathering  honey, 
of  which  more  will  be  said  in  the  next  chapter.  I 
want  first  to  tell  the  whole  story  of  the  queens. 


ITALIANIZING. 


73 


It  seemed  to  me  that  it  would  be  best  to  let  the 
queens  come  as  near  maturity  as  posssible,  before 
taking  them  from  the  parent  hive.  I might  safely 
wait  until  the  twelfth  day  from  the  date  of  giving 
the  queenless  blacks  the  Italian  frames.  On  the 
eleventh  day,  twelve  of  the  weakest  of  the  black 
stocks  were  selected.  Each  hive  was  carefully 
looked  over  and  the  queen  removed.  Then  these 
twelve  swarms  were  broken  up  into  forty  nuclei. 
There  were  frames  enough  to  give  each  nucleus 
three.  The  nuclei  were  made  towards  night,  and 
the  hives  were  shut  until  ten  o’clock  next  day. 
Then  as  I opened  the  entrances,  I leaned  a board 
against  the  hives  before  the  entrances.  The  bees 
coming  out  and  meeting  this  unusual  obsruction 
were  led  to  mark  their  new  location,  and  so  would 
return  to  it,  instead  of  going  back  to  their  old  hive. 
At  one  o'clock  everything  seeming  right  about  the 
nuclei,  and  all  things  looking  propitious,  I opened 
one  of  the  queen-rearing  hives.  It  was  for  me  an 
interesting  moment.  Another  move  of  the  hand 
would  bring  to  light  one  of  the  frames  upon  which 
I expected  to  find  queen-cells.  The  frames  were 
carefully  moved  apart  so  as  to  remove  all  danger  of 
bruising  cells  as  the  frame  was  lifted,  then  it  was 
taken  out.  I was  not  disappointed.  On  that  comb 
there  were  seven  large  fine-looking  cells.  The  other 
three  frames  had  respectively  five,  eight  and  nine 


74 


THE  BLESSED  BEES. 


cells,  making  twenty-nine  in  this  hive.  All  but  one 
were  carefully  cut  out,  and  laid  on  a bed  of  cotton- 
wool in  a shallow  basket  prepared  for  the  purpose. 
The  other  hive  was  then  opened  and  found  to  con- 
tain thirty-one  cells.  After  leaving  one  in  each  hive 
this  gave  me  fifty-eight  excellent  capped  cells.10 
There  were  but  forty  nuclei,  so  I selected  forty  of 
the  finest  cells,  and  going  from  nucleus  to  nucleus, 
grafted  a cell  into  one  of  the  combs  of  each.  This 
was  done  by  cutting  a shoulder  in  the  comb  in  the 
frame,  of  the  right  shape  to  receive  the  small  piece 
of  comb  attached  to  the  cell.  In  not  a few  cases 
when  the  cells  had  been  close  together  and  so 
scarcely  any  comb  was  attached  to  them  after  they 
were  cut  apart,  I simply  held  the  cell,  point  down- 
ward, between  two  frames  of  comb,  then'  ,moved 
one  frame  slightly  toward  the  other,  so  as  to  press 
gently  upon  the  bit  of  comb  attached  to  the  cell. 
The  pressure  would  keep  the  cell  in  place  until  the 
inclosed  queen  should  hatch.  Before  night  every 
nucleus  had  its  cell. 

As  my  object  was  to  secure  queens  for  my  black 
stocks,  some  may  wonder  why  I took  all  this  trouble 
with  nuclei.  Why  not  have  deprived  all  my  black 
stocks  of  their  queens,  and  then  have  given  a 
capped  cell  to  each  stock?  This  course  could  have 
been  followed  and  with  success ; but  it  would  have 
been  much  less  advantageous  than  the  one  I pur- 


ITALIANIZING . 


75 


sued,  as  will  at  once  appear  by  an  easy  calculation. 
After  the  capped  queen-cells  were  put  in  the  nuclei, 
there  would  be  an  average  of  four  days  before  they 
would  hatch  ; then  five  days  would  pass  before  the 
queen  would  go  out  to  meet  the  drone,  and  longer, 
if  the  fifth  and  some  following  days  should  chance 
to  be  cloudy  ; then  two  days  more  before  the  fertil- 
ized queens  would  begin  to  lay ; making  a period  of 
at  least  eleven  days  after  the  nuclei  were  made  be- 
fore the  queens  would  begin  to  lay.  If,  instead  of 
making  nuclei,  I had  destroyed  all  my  black  queens 
and  given  the  queen-cells  directly  to  the  black 
stocks,  each  stock  then  would  have  been  for  at  least 
eleven  days  without  a laying  queen.  A first-rate 
queen  will  lay  3,000  eggs  a day.  We  will  suppose 
that  mine  would  have  laid  2,500  a day.  In  one 
hive  for  eleven  days  this  would  have  been  a loss  of 
27,500  bees.  In  the  thirty-six  hives,  the  aggregate 
loss  would  have  been  990,000  bees.  I destroyed 
twelve  queens  and  made  their  stocks  into  nuclei,  so 
by  my  method  I lost  the  use  of  twelve  queens  for 
the  eleven  days,  in  all,  a loss  of  330,000  bees  by  the 
nucleus  method,  against  a loss  of  990,000  by  the 
other  method.  This  is  a clear  gain  by  the  nucleus 
method  of  660,000  bees.  This,  too,  was  during  the 
time  when  bees  must  be  raised  to  gather  the  white- 
clover  honey  which  comes  soon  after.  A loss  of  so 
many  bees  at  this  season  would  have  seriously  less- 


76 


THE  BLESSED  BEES. 


ened  my  honey  harvest,  and  so  have  made  the  re- 
ceipts of  the  year  much  smaller. 

On  the  eleventh  day  after  making  the  nuclei  I ex- 
amined five  of  them,  simply  by  lifting  up  the  frames 
to  see  if  any  eggs  were  in  the  cells.  The  presence  of 
eggs  would  show  that  the  queens  had  begun  to  lay. 
Four  of  them  showed  eggs,  but  the  fifth  none.  The 
next  day  I examined  this  fifth  one  again  and  found 
eggs,  as  also  in  six  more  which  I opened.  Then 
preparations  were  made  for  introducing  queens  to 
the  black  stocks.  That  afternoon  I looked  over 
twelve  of  the  twenty-two  stocks  which  remained 
after  the  nuclei  were  made,  found  the  queens  and 
removed  them.  Then  opening  a nucleus  I found 
its  queen,  caged  her  in  a small  wire-cloth  cage  about 
the  size  of  my  thumb,  and  suspended  this  cage  be- 
tween two  combs  in  one  of  the  black  stocks  just 
made  queenless.  So  the  work  went  on  until  a 
caged  queen  was  in  each  of  the  twelve  black  stocks. 
The  next  morning  I uncaged  these  queens,  smeared 
a little  honey  on  them,  and  let  them  crawl  down 
among  the  bees.  In  every  case  they  seemed  to  re- 
ceive her  gladly.  Then  the  other  ten  stocks  had 
their  old  queens  removed,  and  a caged  one  put  in, 
which  was  liberated  the  following  morning  in  the 
same  way.  On  the  fourth  day  afterwards  I ex- 
amined all  and  found  fresh  eggs  in  twenty,  showing 
that  the  queens  had  been  received  and  were  at 


ITALIANIZING. 


77 


work.  In  the  other  two  there  were  no  eggs,  and 
queen-cells  had  been  started,  proving  that  for  some 
cause  in  these  two  the  introduced  queens  had  been 
rejected.  I destroyed  the  queen-cells  and  sprayed 
every  comb  with  peppermint  water  from  the  atom- 
izer. Two  queens  were  then  sprayed,  and  allowed 
at  once  to  crawl  between  the  combs.  I found  by 
a subsequent  examination  that  they  were  accepted. 

Thus  twenty-four  of  my  nuclei  had  done  their 
work,  had  yielded  me  fertile  queens.  Four  more 
had  no  queens.  They  were  probably  lost  in  return- 
ing from  the  marriage  flight.  These  twenty-eight 
nuclei  I at  once  united  with  ten  that  had  fertile 
queens.  The  uniting  was  done  by  spraying  the 
frames  in  a nucleus,  then  spraying  the  frames  to  be 
put  in,  and  stopping  up  the  entrance  for  a night 
after  they  were  united.  They  gave  no  trouble,  did 
not  quarrel,  and  all  knew  their  places.  I helped 
these  ten  swarms  made  by  uniting  nuclei,  by  giving 
them  frames  of  hatching  brood  from  the  strong 
stocks,  and  by  exchanging  some  of  their  empty 
frames  for  those  full  of  brood  taken  from  other 
hives,  until  all  the  ten  had  twelve  frames  each.  I 
desired  to  have  every  hive  as  strong  as  possible. 
All  the  twenty-two  which  had  not  been  used  for 
rearing  queen-cells,  nor  broken  up  into  nuclei  for 
hatching  them  were  now  very  strong,  and  could 
easily  spare  a frame  or  two  to  help  those  which  had 


78 


THE  BLESSED  BEES. 


been  rearing  queens  for  all.  The  other  two  nuclei 
were  kept  so  as  to  have  their  queens  to  supply  any 
stock  that  might  accidentally  become  queenless. 

It  was  the  twenty-ninth  of  May  that  the  work  of 
Italianizing  was  completed.  The  work  had  been 
really  exciting.  I entered  into  it  with  an  abandon 
which  I believe  is  seldom  found.  People  often 
complain  that  their  work  is  slavish  toil.  Mine  had 
been  a daily  delight.  Although  several  years  have 
passed  since  then,  and  I now  number  my  hives  by 
the  thousand,  still  as  I write  this  account  of  those 
absorbing  days  something  of  the  old  enthusiasm 
stirs  within  me.  I was  only  seventeen.  My  mother, 
my  brother,  my  sister,  and  our  farm  of  eighty  acres 
made  up  my  little  world, — a world  in  which  it  would 
seem  to  many  that  life  must  be  very  monotonous. 
For  me  life  had  always  been  happy,  now  it  was 
glorified  by  enthusiastic  devotion  to  a chosen  call- 
ing. Here  in  the  heart  of  Michigan,  far  from  what 
is  called  society,  I had  created  a world  which  had 
for  me  a stronger  interest  than  any  of  the  throbbing 
centres  of  human  life.  I am  not  sure  but  my  work 
in  rearing  those  beautiful  insects,  being  for  them  a 
providence  to  secure  every  best  condition  of  life, 
was  far  nobler  than  that  of  the  titled  courtiers  who 
attend  upon  queens  and  kings  in  the  great  hive  of 
human  life.  Nay,  I am  sure;  it  was  nobler.  My 
work  was  strengthening  to  the  body,  and  sweeten- 
ing to  the  soul. 


APPLE  BLOSSOMS. 


While  queen-rearing  was  going  on,  other  work  was 
not  at  a stand-still.  In  transferring  I had  learned 
very  accurately  the  condition  of  every  stock.  All 
had  honey  enough ; all  had  pollen  stored  for  the 
brood  ; all  had  brood  coming  forward,  yet  some 
were  in  much  better  condition  than  others.  All 
of  my  original  hives,  which  had  been  wintered  in 
the  cellar  with  careful  attention  to  temperature, 
were  strong  in  bees.  They  seemed  almost  to  fill 
the  hive  even  at  that  early  season  of  the  year. 
Those  which  I had  purchased  had  an  abundance  of 
honey,  but  they  had  fewer  bees  than  my  old  ones. 
I at  once  turned  attention  to  rearing  bees,  for  a 
hive  that  is  weak  in  bees  will  scarcely  gather  honey 
enough  for  its  own  use,  but  one  that  is  very  strong 
in  bees  will,  in  a good  location  and  a good  season, 
store  a large  quantity  of  surplus  honey.  My  aim 
in  keeping  bees  was  to  make  a profit  from  them, 
and  to  do  this  I must  have  every  hive  boiling  over 
with  faithful  workers.  79 


8o 


THE  BLESSED  BEES. 


The  alders,  the  willows  of  different  species,  and 
the  white  and  red  maples  gave  sufficient  pollen  and 
honey  to  promote  brood  rearing  before  April  15th, 
hence  when  I began  to  transfer,  all  the  hives  had 
some  hatching  brood,  and  other  brood,  in  all  stages 
of  growth.  As  soon  as  the  bees  were  in  the  mova- 
ble-comb hives,  I began  systematic  effort  to  stimu- 
late the  queens  to  lay.  Some  of  my  efforts  gave 
much  amusement  to  those  of  my  neighbors  who 
learned  about  them.  Early  in  the  season  it  is  im- 
portant that  the  hives  be  kept  quite  warm,  so  that 
the  queens  will  lay,  and  so  that  the  young  brood 
will  not  be  chilled.  Yet  early  in  the  season  we 
often  have  cool  days,  and  the  nights  are  usually 
quite  cool.  To  prevent  the  escape  of  the  heat 
generated  by  the  bees  in  the  hive,  I had  some 
small  comfortables  made,  the  exact  length  and 
width  of  the  hives,  and  with  these  the  tops  of  the 
frames  containing  the  comb  were  closely  covered. 
On  top  of  these  quilts  I put  two  or  three  thick- 
nesses of  carpet.  My  wise  neighbors,  who  had 
always  seen  bees  kept  in  the  old,  careless  way, 
laughed  not  a little  at  “ that  young  Allen,  who  was 
tucking  his  bees  up  in  bed  comforts/’  Their  fun 
gave  me  no  uneasiness,  for  I felt  quite  certain  that 
before  many  months  were  gone  the  laugh  would  be 
in  my  favor.  I could  remember  when  they  had 
made  similar  complimentary  remarks  about  my 


APPLE  BLOSSOMS. 


8f 

father’s  putting  out  so  large  an  orchard,  but  the 
preceding  harvest  from  that  orchard  had  given  us 
more  clean  cash  than  any  farmer  in  our  neighbor- 
hood had  received  from  his  farm  for  three  years. 

The  entrances  to  the  hives  were  so  arranged  that 
on  cool  nights  and  windy  days  they  could  be  nearly 
closed,  leaving  only  space  for  one  or  two  bees  to 
pop  out  or  in  at  once.  The  bees  bred  in  April  and 
May  would  be  my  servants,  to  fill  the  hives  several 
times  with  honey  from  the  luscious  harvest  that 
would  come  in  June,  with  the  blooming  of  white 
clover  and  linn.  May  1st  was  the  great  day  for 
inaugurating  queen-rearing.  The  next  day  I looked 
over  every  hive,  and  carefully  examined  every  comb. 
In  order  to  keep  the  temperature  of  the  hive  as 
high  as  possible  in  the  early  spring,  it  is  important 
to  crowd  the  bees  together  on  as  many  frames  only 
as  they  will  comfortably  cover.  I reduced  most  of 
the  hives  to  six  or  seven  frames,  having  those  con- 
taining brood  in  the  centre.  The  next  day  I again 
opened  every  hive,  and  lifting  out  the  rear  frame  I 
shoved  the  combs  back  from  the  centre,  and  put 
this  rear  one,  which  contained  no  brood,  in  the 
centre.  In  this  way  I was  giving  the  queen  a whole 
frame  of  empty  cells  in  the  central  and  warmest 
part  of  the  hive,  where  she  could  fill  the  cells  with 
eggs.  I repeated  this  process  about  once  in  two 
days,  putting  in  more  frames  when  those  already 


82 


THE  BLESSED  BEES . 


in  were  filled,  until  all  the  hives  were  full  of  frames, 
and  every  frame  was  nearly  full  of  brood.  In  this 
work  of  building  up  the  swarms  to  the  strongest 
point,  the  empty  combs,  which  I mentioned  as 
having  been  stored  away  at  the  time  of  transfer- 
ring, were  of  great  value.  Without  them  it  would 
have  been  impossible  for  me  to  have  made  the 
hives  so  strong,  for  it  is  not  possible  for  the  bees 
to  make  new  comb  in  the  early,  cool  weather. 

The  strongest  hives  were  full  of  brood  much 
sooner  than  the  others ; then  they  were  made  to 
give  some  frames  of  brood  to  weaker  ones,  so  as  to 
bring  all  up  to  the  highest  standard.  Before  queen- 
rearing was  over  nearly  every  hive  was  full.  When 
the  thirty-eight  nuclei  were  united  into  ten  hives, 
a few  frames  were  needed  to  fill  them  out,  which 
were  also  taken  from  the  ablest  stocks,  and  their 
places  filled  with  empty  combs.  It  will  be  remem- 
bered that  at  first  I had  thirty-six  black  stocks,  and 
one  Italian.  Two  blacks  had  been  used  to  raise 
queen  cells,  and  twelve  had  been  broken  up  into 
nuclei  to  hatch  the  cells.  Now,  in  uniting  all  but 
two  of  these  nuclei,  they  were  put  into  ten  stocks. 
Hence  I now  had  thirty-five  full  stocks,  and  the  two 
nuclei. 

The  opening  of  hives  about  every  other  day  had 
kept  me  well  informed  as  to  the  honey  in  them. 
From  willows  and  soft  and  silver  maples  enough 


APPLE  BLOSSOMS. 


83 


honey  was  secured  to  make  the  hives  gain  several 
pounds  in  weight.  Of  the  sugar  maple  there  were 
large  numbers  of  trees  within  a mile  of  me,  and 
when  they  opened,  the  bees  had  pasturage  as  good 
as  could  be  asked.  They  worked  merrily,  and  in 
two  days  I noticed  the  hives  were  about  full  of 
brood  and  honey.  This  was  while  the  queen-rear- 
ing was  going  on,  when  there  were  but  twenty-five 
hives.  Extracting  was  begun  next  morning.  The 
day  was  still  and  warm.  The  bees  were  flying  rap- 
idly to  and  from  the  maple  woods.  The  first  hive 
was  smoked  a little,  opened,  the  frames  lifted  in 
succession,  and  the  bees  shaken  into  the  hive.  The 
frames  were  hung  in  a carrier,  and  taken  to  the 
shop,  where  the  extractor  was  firmly  set,  at  such  a 
height  that  the  honey  could  run  from  it  into  the 
bung  of  a barrel.  Being  curious  to  know  the  num- 
ber of  pounds  I should  get  on  this,  my  first  honey 
day,  I had  arranged  to  draw  the  honey  from  the 
extractor  into  a pail,  and  then  pour  into  the  barrel. 
By  weighing  the  first  pailful,  and  counting  the  num- 
ber of  pailfuls,  the  whole  number  of  pounds  would 
be  known. 

The  extractor11  held  two  frames  at  a time.  As  the 
honey  was  not  yet  capped  over,  there  was  no  labor 
in  uncapping.  Two  frames  were  put  in,  and  I 
turned  the  crank  slowly  at  first.  The  speed  was 
increased  until  I heard  the  honey  fly  out  against 


84 


THE  BLESSED  BEES. 


the  sides  of  the  can.  The  frames  all  had  brood  in 
them,  of  which  a good  deal  was,  of  course,  not  yet 
sealed.  From  frames  containing  both  brood  and 
honey,  the  honey  can  be  thrown  without  injuring 
the  brood,  if  one  is  careful  to  turn  with  just  the 
right  speed.  After  a few  trials  I got  the  knack  of 
it,  and  could  throw  out  the  honey  without  disturb- 
ing a single  growing  larva.  The  honey  having  been 
thrown  from  these  first  combs,  they  were  returned 
to  their  hive,  and  another  hive  was  opened,  and  so 
the  work  went  on.  It  was  not  by  any  means  easy 
work  for  a beginner.  A pretty  wide  experience  has 
convinced  me  that  extracting  is  not  easy  work  for 
an  old  bee  keeper.  Lifting  the  combs  from  the 
hive,  shaking  off  the  bees,  carrying  the  combs  to 
and  from  the  extractor — all  are  hard  work.  When 
five  o’clock  came,  and  the  day’s  work  was  done,  I 
was  very  tired.  But  the  result  of  the  work  was  so 
stimulating  that  my  weariness  was  almost  forgotten. 
From  the  thirteen  hives,  opened  that  day,  had  been 
taken  two  hundred  and  twenty-six  pounds  of  honey, 
an  average  of  more  than  seventeen  pounds  per  hive. 
The  extensive  maple  forest  was  yielding  to  my 
strong  stocks  a most  abundant  harvest. 

That  night  after  the  shop  was  cleared  up,  and 
every  thing  in  order  for  the  next  day,  I sat  down 
to  put  in  writing,  and  to  consider  in  all  its  aspects, 
a plan  which  had  come  into  my  mind  as  1 was  work- 


APPLE  BLOSSOMS. 


85 


ing  over  the  extractor.  I will  here  set  down  the 
date  upon  which  my  plan  of  work  for  the  year  was 
finally  based — a plan  which  achieved  such  a brilliant 
success  as  to  be  almost  incredible,  except  to  those 
who  have  some  acquaintance  with  the  methods  and 
results  of  modern  bee  keeping. 

1.  By  extracting  from  the  hives  every  two  or 
three  days  during  an  abundant  yield  of  honey,  the 
bees  are  stimulated  by  the  loss  of  their  stores  to 
such  unremitting  industry,  that  the  number  of 
pounds  of  honey  obtained  from  a hive  is  greatly 
increased.  The  reports  spoke  not  unfrequently  of 
getting  three  hundred  pounds.  Sometimes  four 
hundred  pounds  per  hive  were  obtained  during  the 
season. 

2.  By  extracting  frequently  the  cells  are  emptied 
of  honey,  and  so  are  ready  for  the  queen  to  lay  in. 
And  as  the  bees  are  bringing  in  honey  rapidly,  she 
is  stimulated  to  do  her  best.  So  the  hive  is  kept 
full  of  growing  brood,  and  very  strong  in  mature 
bees  old  enough  to  work. 

3.  The  honey  extracted  from  the  combs  before  it 
has  been  sealed  up  in  the  cells  by  the  bees  is  thin- 
ner, and  not  so  good  in  flavor  as  when  it  has  been 
left  in  the  combs  until  sealed.  But  if  left  until 
sealed,  the  bees  are  not  stimulated  to  so  great  in- 
dustry, and  a much  smaller  number  of  pounds  is 
secured. 


86 


THE  BLESSED  BEES . 


4.  The  demand  for  extracted  honey,  even  of  the 
best  quality,  is  not  so  great  as  for  comb  honey,  and 
the  price  per  pound  is  usually  not  more  than  two- 
thirds  as  much  as  the  price  of  comb  honey. 

5.  After  apple  blossoms  would  come  a period  of 
no  bloom  until  white  clover  should  open,  during 
which  the  bees  would  obtain  scarcely  enough  honey 
to  keep  them  rearing  brood.  After  white  clover 
and  linn  there  would  be  another  season  of  inactivity, 
and  another  after  the  first  frost  in  the  fall.  During 
these  idle  seasons  it  would  be  best  to  feed  the  hives 
a little  every  day,  in  order  to  keep  them  rearing 
brood. 

6.  Then  I asked  myself  this  question : Could  the 
honey  be  extracted  often  during  a honey  harvest , and 
then  when  the  time  of  no  bloom  came , and  the  bees 
were  forced  to  idleness,  could  this  honey  be  fed  back  to 
them,  and  be  stored  by  them  in  nice , new  comb,  and 
ripened  so  as  to  obtain  nearly  as  many  pounds  of  comb 
honey  as  had  been  taken  of  extracted  honey  ? 

7.  It  will  be  seen  that  by  the  frequent  extracting 
the  large  quantity  of  thin  honey  would  be  secured  ; 
and  the  combs  being  often  emptied,  the  queen  would 
have  empty  cells  for  her  eggs,  and  so  be  kept  lay- 
ing. Then,  when  the  period  of  scarcity  came,  by 
feeding  this  honey  back,  a stimulus  would  be  given 
the  queen.  The  bees,  too,  would  be  kept  busy 
feeding  the  young  brood,  and  storing  the  honey  in 


APPLE  BLOSSOMS. 


37 


combs  suitable  for  market,  and  ripening  it,  when 
otherwise  they  would  be  idle,  not  getting  honey 
enough  from  day  to  day  to  supply  the  needs  of  the 
hive,  and  hence  consuming  a part  of  what  they  had 
already  stored. 

8.  So  far  as  I could  see,  it  seemed  certain : 

(a)  That  whatever  honey  was  fed  to  a hive  would 
be  kept  by  the  bees  in  the  hive.  For  them  to  take 
it  outside  the  hive  would  be  contrary  to  all  that 
was  known  of  the  nature  of  the  bees. 

{b).  That  a portion  of  what  was  fed  them  would 
be  consumed  by  the  bees  themselves,  but  they 
would  eat  no  more  than  they  needed.  It  was  most 
profitable  for  me  that  they  should  have  all  they 
needed. 

(< c ).  That  some  of  what  was  fed  them  would  be 
fed  to  the  young  brood.  The  more  they  used  for 
this  purpose  the  better  for  me.  The  more  bees 
raised  in  the  hive  the  more  workers  there  would  be 
to  store  honey  when  the  white  clover  and  linn 
opened  their  nectar-laden  blooms. 

(d) .  That  whatever  the  bees  did  not  eat  them- 
selves, nor  feed  to  the  young  brood,  would  be  stored 
in  combs  in  the  most  marketable  shape. 

(e) .  That  the  number  of  pounds  of  comb-honey 
would  be  less  than  the  extracted  honey  fed  the 
bees,  but  the  comb-honey  would  be  worth  so  much 
more  per  pound,  that,  after  making  a large  deduc- 


88 


THE  BLESSED  BEES. 


tion  for  loss  in  weight,  the  value  of  the  comb-honey 
would  be  more  than  the  value  of  the  extracted 
honey. 

After  looking  the  subject  over  in  all  its  aspects  I 
determined  to  try  the  experiment  of  feeding  back 
to  the  bees  whatever  honey  I had  on  hand  after 
apple-blossoms.  By  the  result  of  this  experiment 
I could  tell  whether  it  was  wise  to  continue  this 
method.  It  was  somewhat  venturesome  for  a young 
beginner  to  enter  upon  an  untried  held,  but  my 
father  had  taught  me  that,  if  an  idea  had  common 
sense  in  its  favor,  not  to  be  afraid  of  it  because  it 
was  new.  The  next  morning  I sent  off  an  order  for 
material  for  five  hundred  honey  boxes,  four  sides 
glass,  to  hold  about  two  and  a-half  pounds  of  honey 
each.  They  would  come  by  express  to  Howard  in 
time  for  use  when  apple-blossoms  should  fail. 

Three  days  later  apple-blossoms  opened.  Our 
orchard  was  a sea  of  bloom,  and  in  every  orchard 
near  the  bloom  was  equally  profuse.  The  bees 
were  in  a paradise  of  sweets.  In  two  days  I again 
extracted,  getting  on  an  average  twenty-three 
pounds  per  hive.  And  four  days  later  I took  again 
an  average  of  nineteen  pounds  per  hive.  Then,  as 
the  season  of  bloom  was  approaching  a close,  I 
allowed  the  hives  to  be  filled  up.  The  honey-boxes 
came  to  hand  all  right.  They  were  nicely  cut  out, 
and  the  work  of  putting  them  together  was  easy  and 


APPLE  BLOSSOMS.  89 

pleasant.  I arranged  for  putting  on  each  hive  boxes 
to  contain  sixty  pounds  of  comb-honey. 

Feeders  were  prepared  by  making  shallow  troughs 
two  inches  wide,  one  and  a-quarter  inches  deep,  and 
a half-inch  shorter  than  the  inside  width  of  a frame 
for  comb.  One  of  these  was  set  on  the  bottom  bar 
of  a frame  and  fastened  by  driving  small  nails  into 
its  ends  from  the  sides  of  the  frame.  One  end  of 
this  trough  was  placed  close  against  the  side  bar  on 
one  side,  which  made  it  lack  one-half  an  inch  of 
extending  to  the  side  bar  on  the  other  side.  A 
quarter  of  an  inch  above  this  trough  another  was 
fastened  in  the  same  way,  except  that  its  end  was 
brought  close  to  the  side  bar  on  the  opposite  side 
from  the  first  one,  and  thus  an  open  space  of  half 
an  inch  was  left  for  pouring  honey  into  the  trough 
beneath  it.  So  one  trough  was  put  above  another 
until  the  frame  was  filled,  making  seven  in  the 
frame.  Each  of  the  troughs,  if  full,  held  about  one 
pound  of  honey,  so  that  seven  pounds  could  be  fed 
at  once.  That  no  bees  might  fall  into  .the  feeders, 
and  be  drowned,  a very  thin  piece  of  wood,  such  as 
is  used  for  the  backs  of  picture-frames,  was  laid  into 
each  trough.  This,  being  slightly  smaller  than  the 
trough,  would  rise  and  fall  in  it,  and  give  the  bees  a 
secure  footing. 

Having  the  feeders  all  ready,  and  the  boxes  for 
sixty  pounds  of  honey  per  hive  all  prepared  on 


90 


THE  BLESSED  BEES . 


racks  so  that  the  whole  could  be  set  on  or  lifted  off 
at  once,  I extracted  closely  from  every  hive,  re- 
moved all  the  combs  except  those  containing  brood, 
crowded  the  bees  on  these  brood  combs,  and  put  in 
the  division  boards,  then  set  on  the  rack  of  boxes, 
put  on  a super  which  nicely  shut  in  the  boxes,  and 
still  had  room  in  the  rear  end  for  hanging  in  the 
feeder.  At  dusk,  when  no  bees  were  flying,  I went 
along  by  the  rear  end  of  the  hives,  filled  the  feeders 
from  a large  tin  pail  with  a spout,  and  hung  them 
into  the  supers,  just  as  a frame  would  hang.  At  this 
first  feeding  every  feeder  was  filled  with  honey,  for 
I wanted  so  to  excite  the  bees  by  giving  them  sud- 
denly a large  quantity,  as  to  lead  them  to  begin 
vigorously  in  the  boxes  at  once.  On  examination 
in  the  morning  I found  that  the  feeders  were  empty, 
but  that  work  had  been  commenced  in  only  a few 
of  the  boxes.  I inferred  that  the  larger  part  of 
this  first  feed  had  been  stored  in  the  vacant  part  of 
the  brood-combs  and  drew  the  moral  that  in  future 
the  brood  combs  must  be  full,  either  of  brood  or 
honey,  before  feeding  for  comb-honey  was  begun. 
I filled  the  feeders  again  that  morning,  and  at  night 
found  that  work  was  going  on  in  many  of  the  boxes. 
Again  at  night  the  feeders  were  filled,  and  in  the 
morning  they  were  empty,  comb  was  being  built  in 
nearly  all  the  boxes,  and  stored  in  them.  I did  not 
fill  the  feeders  again  this  morning,  for  it  was  not 


APPLE  BLOSSOMS, 


9I 


best  to  have  the  bees  in  the  hive  in  the  daytime. 
If  the  feeders  were  supplied  with  honey  the  bees 
would  remain  in.  If  no  honey  was  in  the  feeders 
they  would  fly  out  and  collect  what  could  be  found, 
even  if  it  was  very  little.  By  feeding  at  dusk  they 
could  empty  the  feeders  by  morning,  and  so  be 
ready  to  go  to  the  fields  and  woods.  So  the  feed- 
ing was  kept  up.  In  ten  days  every  box  was  nearly 
full.  Then  for  two  days  only  a small  amount  was 
fed,  so  as  to  give  the  bees  a chance  to  fill  and  seal 
every  cell.  At  the  end  of  twelve  days  I took  from 
each  hive  the  twenty-four  boxes  nicely  filled  with 
capped  honey,  as  beautiful  as  was  ever  made  from 
apple  blossoms.  It  was  most  attractive  to  the  eye, 
and  of  good  flavor. 

Thus,  before  a pound  of  the  white  clover  and 
linn  harvest  had  been  taken  I had  received  from 
maples  and  apple  blossoms  2,100  pounds  of  comb- 
honey  in  the  best  shape  for  market.  Comb-honey 
was  then  worth  twenty-five  cents  a pound,  or  $525 
for  the  lot.  Already  the  money  invested  in  bees 
was  more  than  returned  to  me.  Already  my  suc- 
cess gave  a surety  for  the  success  of  plans  for  the 
future.  I saw  my  many  different  apiaries  in  favor- 
able locations  for  miles  around  ; the  whole  country 
yielding  nectar  to  my  millions  of  eager  workers  ; 
the  luscious  harvest  filling  my  storehouses  with 
sweets  more  delicate  than  the  famed  honey  of 


92 


THE  BLESSED  BEES. 


Hymettus ; the  distant  markets  of  the  world  send- 
ing to  me  the  returns  which  would  bring  ease 
and  comfort  for  my  mother’s  old  age,  and  cul- 
ture for  my  sister,  my  brother,  and  myself.  The 
whole  world  of  literature,  travel,  art,  was  to  come 
from  the  blessed  bees  that  worked  with  such  cease- 
less industry  under  the  direction  of  my  skill.  It 
was  a happy  dream.  A dream  that  well  might  give 
quicker  beat  to  my  eager  heart,  and  nerve  to  a hand 
as  young  as  mine.  A dream  which  the  harvest 
from  maples  and  apple  blossoms  assured  me  had 
foundations  in  solid  reality. 


VII. 


WHITE  CLOVER  AND  LINN. 

All  things  were  now  in  readiness  for  the  white 
clover  to  open  its  dainty  globes,  so  full  of  food  for 
my  friends,  the  bees.  I watched  its  progress  with 
an  expectant  eagerness.  It  grew  in  great  abund- 
ance, and  gave  promise  of  an  almost  measureless 
flow  of  nectar.  How  small  and  insignificant  it 
seemed  beside  the  great  linn  trees,  some  of  them 
sixty  feet  high,  that  held  up  their  mighty  crowns 
of  leaves  to  the  warm  embrace  of  the  summer  sun. 
Some  of  the  linn  trees,  growing  in  more  open  places, 
branched  near  the  ground,  and  I was  able  easily  to 
observe  the  swelling  flower  buds.  Every  tree  had 
its  millions.  In  a few  days  every  bud  would  open, 
and  every  small  flower  would  be  a chalice,  daily 
filled,  by  the  beneficent  hand  of  nature,  with  the 
honey  which  the  tireless  bees  would  hasten  to  carry 
to  the  hives.  The  delicate  clover,  modestly  creep- 
ing everywhere,  and  the  majestic  linns,  noble  mon- 
archs  of  the  woods,  were  equally  my  friends.  On 
the  1 2th  of  June  the  clover  began  to  open  in  the 

93 


94 


THE  BLESSED  BEES. 


most  favored  places.  Two  days  later  it  was  so 
abundant  that  the  bees  seemed  in  a quiet,  happy 
intoxication.  Long  before  sunrise  the  earliest  were 
afield.  Not  until  almost  dark  did  the  last  belated 
wanderer  fly  home  with  its  sweet  burden. 

Most  of  the  frames  in  the  first  stories  were  nearly 
or  quite  full  of  brood.  It  had  been  my  persistent 
effort  to  get  these  frames  so  full  of  brood,  that  when 
the  clover  should  open,  there  would  be  scarcely  any 
empty  cells  for  storing  honey  in  the  lower  stories, 
and  hence  the  bees,  in  their  eagerness  to  find  room, 
would  be  willing  to  begin  in  the  second  stories  at 
once.  These  second  stories  had  been  kept  near  the 
hives  they  were  to  go  on,  and  provided  with  frames. 
There  were  yet  one  hundred  and  eight  frames  of  the 
drone  comb  and  inferior  worker  comb,  which  had 
been  stored  away  when  transferring.  Three  of  these 
frames  were  put  in  each  super.  On  the  morning  of 
the  second  day  after  white  clover  opened  the  supers 
were  put  on.  First  the  lid  of  the  hive  was  taken 
off,  and  the  quilt  removed  from  the  frames.  Then 
the  second  story  was  set  on  the  first,  the  frames 
adjusted  at  the  proper  distance,  the  quilt  spread  on 
the  frames,  and  the  lid  put  on,  making  simply  a 
two-story  hive,  the  lower  story  for  brood,  and  the 
upper  for  surplus  honey. 

Next  morning  I examined  a few  supers,  and  in 
every  one  found  the  bees  at  work  repairing  the  old 


WHITE  CLOVER  AND  LINN. 


95 


comb,  and  already  starting  new  combs  in  the  empty 
frames.  The  increase  of  room  had  come  at  the 
right  time.  I hoped  it  might  entirely  prevent 
swarming,  as  well  as  give  abundant  room  for  sur- 
plus stores.  The  weather  was  warm  and  clear.  The 
clover  kept  opening  its  wealth  of  blooms.  The  bees 
worked  in  an  abandon  of  enjoyment.  The  combs 
were  built  with  surprising  rapidity,  and  as  fast  as 
built  were  filled  with  honey.  In  each  super  there 
were  nine  frames  to  be  filled  with  new  comb.  In 
twelve  days  they  had,  in  nearly  all  the  hives,  every 
frame  filled  with  new  comb,  and  every  comb  filled 
with  honey  waiting  to  be  sealed.  It  would  take  no 
small  amount  of  time  and  honey  for  them  to  make 
the  wax  and  seal  it.  For  my  purpose  it  was  just 
as  well  to  extract  before  sealed. 

Again  I prepared  to  extract.  As  I hoped  to  find 
no  brood  in  the  second  stories,  I prepared  to  handle 
the  frames  in  a little  different  manner.  I went  first 
to  the  two  hives  most  distant  from  the  shop,  took 
six  frames  from  the  second  story  of  each,  then  closed 
the  hives,  and  left  them  until  they  should  be  reached 
in  turn.  The  twelve  frames  were  taken  to  the  shop, 
the  honey  extracted,  and  they  were  then  taken  to 
the  hive,  where  regular  operations  were  to  begin. 
From  the  second  story  of  this  hive  the  twelve  full 
frames  were  taken,  and  the  twelve  empty  frames 
hung  at  once  in  their  place,  and  the  hives  immedi- 


9 6 


THE  BLESSED  BEES . 


ately  closed.  The  bees  would  go  to  work  without 
hesitation  in  the  empty  comb,  and  so  confusion  and 
loss  of  time  were  avoided.  The  honey  was  extracted 
now  from  the  twelve  frames  just  taken,  and  they 
were  used  for  the  next  hiye,  and  so  on  until  every 
hive  had  been  attended  to.  It  took  two  days  of 
hard  work  to  extract  from  the  thirty-five  hives,  but 
it  was  interesting  and  exciting  labor.  The  result 
showed  an  average  of  five  and  a half  pounds  of 
honey  to  a frame,  sixty-six  pounds  to  a hive,  or 
2,310  in  all. 

The  bees  continued  work  day  after  day  with  the 
quiet,  happy  air,  so  delightful  to  every  bee  keeper, 
for  it  assures  him  that  his  hives  are  being  filled. 
To  sit  among  the  hives  was  to  surround  oneself 
with  a ceaseless  sound  of  joyous  humming.  Large 
numbers  of  workers  were  constantly  leaving  and  re- 
turning. Now  and  then  a clumsy  drone  would  go 
booming  past,  making  up  in  quantity  of  noise  for 
lack  of  industry.  As  all  the  supers  were  now  sup- 
plied with  combs,  of  course  it  took  less  time  to  fill 
them  with  honey.  On  the  eighth  day  I again  ex- 
tracted, and  obtained  an  average  of  fifty-nine  pounds 
per  hive,  2,065  pounds  from  the  thirty-five.  I found 
in  two  or  three  cases  that  the  queens  had  got  into 
the  upper  stories,  and  nearly  filled  one  or  two  combs 
with  eggs.  Such  frames  I gave  to  the  two  nuclei, 
left  after  Italianizing. 


WHITE  LINN  AND  CLOVER. 


97 


Now  the  linn  opened  its  myriads  of  flowers,  and 
the  bees  left  the  white  clover  for  its  superior  attrac- 
tions. They  flew  back  and  forth  in  a kind  of  quiet 
delirium.  I had  read  glowing  accounts  of  the  large 
amounts  of  honey  sometimes  obtained  from  linn, 
but  the  reality  surpassed  all  my  expectations.  In 
six  days  the  supers  were  again  ready  to  extract,  and 
yielded  2,485  pounds.12  If  linn  flowers  lasted  through 
the  summer,  they  would  make  a bee  keeper's  para- 
dise. Unfortunately  they  last  only  ten  or  twelve 
days.  Towards  the  last  of  their  season  they  did 
not  yield  so  well.  On  the  eleventh  day  after  their 
opening  I observed  that  bees  were  working  again 
on  white  clover,  so  I extracted  at  once,  in  order  to 
keep  the  linn  honey  as  far  as  possible  by  itself. 
This  time  the  yield  was  1,505  pounds. 

The  white  clover  again  gave  the  bees  a field  in 
which  they  worked  with  a passion  of  acquisitive- 
ness. In  eleven  days  more  the  season  begun  to 
fail,  the  clover  bloom  was  disappearing.  Finally 
on  July  22d  a hot  sun  and  dry  wind  made  the  flow- 
ers disappear  as  if  by  magic.  Instead  of  the  carpet 
of  white  there  was  an  array  of  innumerable  brown 
balls.  I stood  in  the  door  of  the  shop,  looked  out 
over  the  wide  fields,  and  at  the  broad  stretch  of 
forest,  and  then  into  the  infinite  depths  of  the  sum- 
mer sky,  which  seemed  filled  with  the  presence  of 
that  Over  Soul,  that  is  everywhere  the  Life  of  all 


98 


THE  BLESSED  BEES . 


life.  His  laws  working  through  blooms  and  bees 
had  again  and  again  filled  my  hives  with  precious 
stores. 

My  preparations  had  been  made  to  increase  the 
number  of  my  swarms  as  soon  as  white  clover  failed, 
and  then  to  set  all  the  hives  to  storing  the  honey 
in  boxes  for  market.  Preparatory  to  increasing  the 
swarms  I extracted  all  honey  from  the  supers,  and 
set  the  empty  frames  back,  to  be  cleansed  up  by 
the  bees.  This  last  yield  gave  me  1,997  pounds,  an 
average  of  more  than  fifty-seven  pounds  per  hive. 

The  whole  harvest  from  white  clover  and  linn  was  : 

DATE.  POUNDS  PER  HIVE.  AMOUNT. 


June  27  . 

. 66,  white  clover  = 2,310 

July  5 • 

59,  “ 

“ = 2,065 

July  11  . 

. 71,  linn, 

= 2,485 

July  16 

43,  “ 

— 1,505 

July  23  . 

. 57,  white  clover  = 1,997 

10,362 

This  great  success  was  a surprise  and  a triumph 
to  me.  The  journals  indeed  gave  reports  of  very 
large  yields,  now  from  white  clover  and  now  from 
linn,  but  in  no  case  had  so  large  a yield  as  mine 
been  reported  from  both  in  the  same  season. 

This  great  yield  was  due  to  several  causes  : 

1.  The  hives  were  all  very  strong  in  bees.  No 
swarms  had  issued,  and  none  had  been  made.  My 


WHITE  CLOVER  AND  LINN  99 

method  of  management  had  kept  the  brood  cham- 
ber almost  full  of  brood  from  early  in  the  spring. 

2.  The  second  stories,  put  on  at  the  right  time, 
had  given  space  for  storing,  which  had  been  at  once 
used  by  the  bees. 

3.  The  location  was  most  excellent.  White  clo- 
ver and  linn  were  in  boundless  profusion. 

4.  The  weather  had  been  good. 

5.  The  frequent  extracting  had  stimulated  the 
bees  to  work  to  the  utmost. 

It  was  now  July  23.  Buckwheat  would  begin  to 
bloom  about  August  15th  to  20th.  Now  I must 
work  for  an  increase  of  swarms.  The  first  steps  in 
this  direction  had  already  been  taken. 


VIII. 


NUCLEUS  SWARMING. 

Up  to  this  time  I had  been  so  fortunate  as  to  have 
no  swarms  issue  from  the  hive.  I say  fortunate,  be- 
cause it  is  best  to  keep  one's  bees  at  work  securing 
honey.  If  they  swarm,  the  old  stock,  from  which 
the  swarm  issues,  is  weakened,  and  the  new  stock  is 
not  strong  enough  to  store  much  surplus.  If  all  hives 
can  be  kept  full  of  bees  until  after  white  clover,  they 
will  then  in  most  locations,  have  gathered  the  main 
harvest  of  the  year.  The  bee-keeper  can  then  make 
as  many  new  swarms  as  his  judgment  approves.  But 
it  is  not  easy  to  keep  bees  from  swarming  until  so 
late  in  the  season.  Unless  very  cautiously  managed 
they  will  sometimes  swarm  so  much  as  to  weaken 
nearly  every  stock,  and  so  destroy  all  hopes  of  a 
large  yield  of  surplus  honey.  My  success  in  keep- 
ing them  from  swarming  gave  me  much  pleasure. 
It  was  a real  triumph  to  succeed  in  my  first  year 
where  so  many  veteran  bee-keepers  fail.  My  suc- 
cess in  preventing  swarming  was  due  in  large  meas- 
ure to  these  two  reasons:  ioo 


NUCLE  US  S WARMING.  I O I 

1.  To  the  young  queens.  In  Italianizing  I had 
given  to  every  hive  a young  queen.  A hive  with  a 
young  queen  is  much  less  likely  to  swarm  than  a 
hive  with  a queen  a year  or  two  old. 

2.  To  the  second  stories.  As  soon  as  white  clover 
opened,  the  supers,  filled  with  frames,  had  been  put 
on.  This  doubled  the  capacity  of  the  hive,  and  set 
the  bees  at  work  to  store  honey.  They  did  not  feel 
any  necessity  for  swarming. 

I had  planned  in  the  spring  to  make  during  the 
season  one  and  a half  new  swarms  for  each  old  one, 
so  as  to  have  in  the  fall,  including  the  old  one,  two 
and  a half  swarms  for  each  one  with  which  I began. 

These  new  swarms  were  to  be  made  on  the  nu- 
cleus system.  To  make  them  the  first  essential  was 
fertile  queens.  Twelve  days  before  the  white  clover 
harvest  would  fail,  as  nearly  as  I could  calculate,  I 
had  again,  as  in  the  spring,  set  two  hives  to  rearing 
queens.  The  original  swarm  of  Italians  was  again 
deprived  of  its  combs  for  this  purpose,  for  I preferred 
that  all  the  queens  should  be  grown  from  the  eggs 
of  the  imported  mother,  for  she  had  proved  to  be  an 
excellent,  full-blooded  Italian.  The  queens  reared 
from  her  in  the  spring  had  before  this  filled  all  my 
hives  with  beautiful,  orange-banded,  Italian  workers. 

Her  combs  were  taken,  treated  as  spoken  of  in 
the  chapter  on  Italianizing,  and  given  to  the  two 
hives  set  apart  for  queen-rearing.  The  queen  cells 


102 


THE  BLESSED  BEES . 


were  started  in  abundance.  Six  days  after  the 
combs  were  put  in,  I found  thirty-two  cells  in  one 
hive  and  thirty-nine  in  the  other — a larger  number 
than  in  the  spring.  Perhaps  they  started  more  be- 
cause the  weather  was  warmer,  the  honey  coming  in 
faster,  and  the  hives  stronger  in  bees.  As  soon  as 
the  clover  harvest  was  done,  I took  twenty  hives  and 
divided  them  up  into  eighty  three-frame  nuclei.  Of 
course  there  were  the  twenty  queens  from  these  di- 
vided hives.  These  were  left  in  their  old  hives,  but 
each  had  only  three  frames  of  brood.  There  were 
still  fifteen  of  the  old  hives,  full  of  frames  of  brood. 
From  each  of  these  I took  five  frames  of  hatching 
brood,  then  moved  the  other  seven  frames  apart 
and  alternated  with  them  five  empty  frames,  so  as 
to  fill  the  hive.  Then  the  seventy-five  frames  taken 
from  the  fifteen  hives  were  given  to  the  twenty 
nuclei  having  queens,  making  four  frames  to  give  to 
each  of  fifteen,  and  three  each  to  the  other  five. 
Then  of  course  fifteen  of  these  had  seven  frames 
each,  and  the  other  five  six  frames  each.  Now  I 
moved  the  frames  in  these  twenty  nuclei  apart,  and 
alternated  empty  frames  with  them  until  the  hives 
were  full.  Then  to  the  whole  thirty-five  so  prepared  I 
gave  an  abundant  feed.  As  the  combs  were  nearly 
full  of  brood,  the  bees  had  no  place  to  store  this 
food,  and  hence  were  urged  to  begin  new  combs  in 
the  empty  frames.  Thus  I had  the  whole  thirty- 


NUCLEUS  SWARMING. 


103 


five  industriously  at  work  building  combs,  of  which 
I needed  a large  supply,  in  addition  to  those  in  the 
supers,  for  the  new  swarms.  The  weather  was  warm, 
just  right  for  comb  building.  I fed  bountifully,  and 
the  combs  went  on  with  gratifying  speed.  As  my 
queens  were  all  young,  these  new  combs  contained 
scarcely  any  but  worker  cells.13 

To  each  of  the  other  sixty  nuclei  I gave  a capped 
queen  cell  as  described  in  the  chapter  on  Italianiz- 
ing. I had  prepared  a few  more  nuclei  than  my 
plan  of  increase  required,  in  order  that  I might  have 
queens  enough,  even  if  a few  should  be  lost.  It  will 
be  remembered  that  in  the  spring  the  queens  were 
lost  from  four  of  the  nuclei.  It  is  quite  probable 
that  the  young  queens,  returning  from  “ their  wed- 
ding journey,  ” made  a mistake,  and  entered  the 
wrong  nuclei.  In  arranging  these  new  nuclei  I 
took  pains  so  to  place  them  that  each  was  easily 
distinguished  both  by  color  and  position,  so  as  to 
give  the  young  queens  all  possible  facilities  in  find- 
ing their  own  homes.  For  once  I managed  to  over- 
come my  passion  for  having  everything  in  mathe- 
matical order,  and  put  these  nuclei  in  irregular 
groups,  under  trees  somewhat  distant  from  each 
other.  As  soon  as  they  were  thus  arranged  I open- 
ed each,  moved  the  division  board  and  the  rear 
comb  a little  toward  the  back  of  the  hive,  and  set 
in  an  empty  frame.  These  sixty  were  then  fed  all 


104 


THE  BLESSED  BEES . 


that  they  would  take,  and  the  bees  began  to  fill  the 
empty  frame  with  comb.  The  combs  built  in  the 
nuclei,  without  queens,  always  have  nearly  or  quite 
all  drone  cells,  but  these  combs  are  just  as  valuable 
for  use  in  the  second  stories.  I needed  worker 
combs  for  the  brood  chambers,  and  combs  in  the 
second  stories  to  contain  surplus  honey.  For  this 
last  purpose  the  combs  made  up  entirely  of  drone 
cells  are  fully  as  valuable.  Hence  I could  profit- 
ably employ  every  bee,  even  in  the  queenless  nuclei. 
Even  these  nuclei  were  pretty  well  supplied  with 
bees,  and  as  they  had  plenty  of  honey  fed  to  them 
every  night,  their  combs  made  good  progress.  In 
six  days  I gave  each  of  them  another  empty  frame, 
and  by  the  time  then  queens  were  all  laying,  they 
had  both  frames  full  of  comb.  In  ten  days  after 
putting  in  the  queen  cells  forty-three  of  the  nuclei 
had  laying  queens.  Three  days  later  I again  exam- 
ined, and  found  that  the  other  seventeen  were  all 
right.  My  precautions  against  the  loss  of  queens 
had  been  successful.  Not  a single  queen  had  failed. 

The  two  nuclei,  kept  in  the  spring  after  Italianiz- 
ing, had  gradually  been  built  up  into  strong  stocks, 
by  giving  them  the  frames  now  and  then  found  con- 
taining eggs  or  brood  in  the  upper  stories.  These 
two  and  the  other  thirty-five  had  done  good  work 
in  comb-building,  during  the  time  that  the  young 
queens  were  hatching,  meeting  the  drones,  and  be- 


NUCLEUS  SIVA  EALING. 


105 


ginning  to  lay.  At  the  end  of  six  days  I had  taken 
from  them  sixty  frames  of  sealed  brood  and  given 
one  to  each  nucleus,  putting  empty  frames  in  their 
places.  At  the  end  of  the  thirteen  days,  when  all 
the  nuclei  were  found  to  have  laying  queens,  every 
one  of  the  other  thirty-seven  was  full  of  combs,  and 
nearly  every  comb  was  full  of  brood  or  eggs.  Now 
I must  build  up  the  nuclei  as  rapidly  as  the  good 
queens  would  fill  the  new  made  comb  wth  eggs. 

Each  nucleus  had  three  frames  to  begin  with  ; 
each  had  built  two  combs;  to  each  had  been  given 
one  from  the  hives ; hence  in  each  there  were  now 
six  frames.  It  would  take  six  frames  more  to  fill 
them  full,  or  three  hundred  and  sixty  frames  in  all. 
To  meet  this  demand  I had  the  thirty-five  supers 
each  containing  twelve  frames,  which  had  been  used 
for  surplus  honey  during  the  white  clover  and  linn 
harvest.  Of  these  frames  one  hundred  and  eight 
contained  the  drone  comb  sorted  out  when  trans- 
ferring, leaving  two  hundred  and  ninety-two  frames 
of  good  worker  comb,  all  built  during  that  season. 
Seventy-seven  more  frames  would  give  me  a com- 
plement for  the  brood  chamber  of  every  hive,  both 
old  and  new.  From  the  thirty-seven  hives  I now 
took  one  hundred  and  twenty  frames,  containing 
larvae  and  eggs,  and  gave  two  to  each  nucleus,  thus 
increasing  its  number  to  eight.  Bees  do  not  often 
rear  brood  in  the  outside  frames  in  a hive,  so  I took 


106  THE  BLESSED  BEES. 

the  two  frames  of  drone  comb  which  had  been  built 
in  each  nucleus,  and  put  one  at  the  front  and  one  at 
the  rear,  leaving  the  six  frames  for  good  worker 
comb  between.  The  rear  half  of  the  frames  were 
then  removed  back  so  as  to  make  room  for  an  empty 
comb  in  the  centre  of  each  nucleus.  When  this  was 
done,  each  nucleus  had  six  frames  of  worker  comb 
containing  brood  and  eggs,  two  frames  of  drone 
comb,  one  at  each  end,  and  the  one  frame  of  empty 
worker  comb  in  the  centre,  where  the  young  queen 
would  rapidly  fill  it  with  eggs. 

The  places  made  vacant  in  the  old  hives  by  taking 
out  frames  were  filled  with  two  empty  frames  in  each 
hive,  and  then  frames  of  nice  empty  worker  comb. 
The  feeding  was  kept  up,  but  as  now  there  was 
not  so  much  comb  to  build,  the  amount  fed  was 
much  less.  The  feeding  was  done  always  at  dusk, 
so  that  the  bees  might  fly  abroad  by  day,  and  gather 
whatever  honey  could  be  found.  They  gathered  some 
every  day,  though  the  amount  of  course  was  small. 

Four  days  later  I took  sixty  frames  of  hatching 
brood  from  the  old  hives,  then  spread  the  brood  and 
put  in  empty  frames  of  worker  combs.  The  sixty 
frames  of  brood  were  given  to  the  nuclei,  and  then 
those  hives  also  were  filled  with  frames  of  worker 
comb.  Twenty  days  after  queen  rearing  was  begun, 
I had  sixty  new  swarms  of  bees — ninety-seven  in 
all,  including  the  old  ones.  These  swarms  were  not 
yet  as  strong  as  the  old  ones  had  been  before  the 


NUCLEUS  SWARMING. 


107 


new  ones  were  begun,  yet  they  were  by  no  means 
weak,  for  the  old  ones  had  been  very  strong  indeed, 
and  could  well  give  up  a portion  of  their  bees,  and 
the  queens  had  been  laying  vigorously  every  day. 
All  of  them  were  very  strong  in  brood,  in  all  stages 
of  growth.  This  brood  was  hatching  every  day,  and 
so  the  number  of  bees  was  fast  increasing.  The 
increase  could  have  been  made  in  this  way,  during 
a season  when  but  little  honey  was  coming  in,  only 
by  my  method  of  feeding  liberally.  To  rear 
brood  and  to  build  comb  both,  requires  a generous 
amount  of  honey.  Although  the  bees  had  gathered 
a little  every  day,  I found,  when  my  new  swarms 
were  all  in  order,  that  I had  fed  an  average  of  thirty- 
one  pounds  of  honey  per  hive,  for  the  whole  ninety- 
seven  hives.  This  honey  would  have  brought  me 
in  the  market  sixteen  cents  a pound,  or  $481.12  for 
the  3007  pounds  fed,  making  each  new  swarm  cost 
me  $8.02.  Then  the  hive  and  frames  for  each  new 
swarm  cost,  including  paint  and  quilt,  $1.20.  So 
the  total  cost  of  a swarm  was  $9.22/*  But  they 
were  in  every  respect  as  perfect  as  bees  and  hives 
and  frames  could  be.  Italian  bees  not  so  good  as 
mine  and  in  hives  much  inferior,  were  then  selling 
for  $15.  per  swarm.  At  this  rate  there  was  a clear 
gain  on  the  sixty  swarms  of  $346.80.  In  no  other 
branch  of  farming  could  I have  made,  in  twenty  days, 
a sum  of  money  nearly  as  great. 


IX. 


COMB  HONEY. 

The  time  for  feeding  the  clover  and  linn  harvest 
back  to  the  bees,  to  be  stored  in  combs,  was  getting 
very  short.  Not  more  than  eight  days  could  now 
be  counted  on  before  buckwheat  would  begin  to 
open,  and  then  every  hive  must  be  gathering  the 
rich  harvest  from  its  innumerable  blooms.  The 
whole  ninety-seven  swarms  were  now  in  condition  to 
engage  in  storing  in  combs.  To  this  I had  been 
looking  forward,  and  had  procured  the  necessary 
supers,  feeders,  and  boxes.  August  12th  I put 
boxes  on  each  hive  to  contain  forty  pounds  of  comb- 
honey,  and  that  afternoon  at  two  o’clock  began 
feeding.  To  each  hive  was  given  a feeder  full,  not 
less  than  seven  pounds.  Everything  had  been  ar- 
ranged so  that  it  was  only  necessary  to  fill  the 
feeders  and  hang  them  into  the  rear  ends  of  the 
hives,  yet  for  so  many  hives  this  was  no  small  job. 

1 had  two  tin  pails  with  spouts,  holding  twelve 
quarts  each.  The  honey  was  drawn  from  the  barrels 
into  these  pails,  and  the  pails  carried,  by  aid  of  a 
108 


COMB  HONEY. 


IO9 


yoke,  to  the  place  among  the  hives  where  they  were 
needed.  Then  resting  a pail  on  a stool,  prepared 
for  the  purpose,  the  honey  was  quickly  poured  into 
a feeder  and  the  feeder  hung  into  the  hive  or  super. 
Work  as  rapidly  as  I could,  it  took  me  rather  more 
than  three  minutes  to  feed  a hive.  Before  all  were 
attended  to  it  was  dark,  and  a very  tired  young  man 
went  to  bed  that  night  before  eight  o’clock.  In  or- 
der to  stimulate  rapid  comb  building  in  every  box, 
I had  determined  to  fill  the  feeders  again  next  morn- 
ing. At  daylight  I was  at  the  work,  beginning 
where  I had  begun  the  day  before.  In  nearly  all 
the  boxes  comb  was  begun.  The  feeders  were 
nearly  empty.  They  were  all  filled  before  nine 
o’clock.  I calculated  that  it  would  take  the  bees 
about  the  whole  day  to  empty  them  this  time,  but 
afterwards  I fed,  in  the  morning,  only  about  three 
pounds,  so  as  to  leave  them  a chance  to  fly  out  for 
several  hours  during  the  day,  but  gave  a full  feed  in 
the  evening.  This  calculation  proved  in  the  main 
correct.  On  the  morning  of  the  fourth  day  the 
boxes  were  nearly  all  full  of  comb,  and  the  upper 
parts  of  the  combs  were  already  sealed.  That 
evening  I fed  only  about  two  pounds,  and  then  for 
two  days  put  only  a small  amount  in  each  feeder. 
On  the  morning  of  the  seventh  day  the  honey  in  the 
boxes  was  all  nicely  sealed.  It  was  only  in  time,  for 
the  buckwheat  had  begun  to  open.  If  I kept  feed- 


THE  BLESSED  BEES. 


iio 

in g the  white  clover  and  linn  to  the  bees,  the  darker 
honey  which  they  gathered  from  the  buckwheat 
would  be  mixed  with  the  white,  and  so  it  would  all 
have  to  sell  for  dark  honey.  Moreover,  if  the  bees 
were  fed  in  the  hive,  they  would  gather  but  little 
honey  from  the  fields.  The  only  course  was  at  once 
to  remove  the  filled  boxes,  and  put  in  empty  frames, 
to  be  filled  with  comb,  for  storing  the  harvest  from 
buckwheat  and  other  full  flowers.  It  was  a delight 
to  take  off  the  clean  boxes,  with  their  store  of  white 
honey  so  beautiful  and  delicate.  I had  fed  an  aver- 
age of  forty-six  pounds  of  extracted  honey  to  each 
hive.  From  this  the  bees  had  made  enough  wax 
for  building  comb,  and  had  filled  the  comb  with 
honey,  so  that  each  hive  yielded  forty  pounds.  It 
will  be  remembered  that  this  extracted  honey  was 
thin  and  unripe.  It  would  have  brought  then  in 
market  sixteen  cents  per  pound.  The  value  of  the 
honey  fed  each  hive  was  therefore  $7.36.  The 
forty  pounds  of  comb-honey  were  worth  readily,  in 
clean  cash,  $10.  There  was,  then,  a clear  profit  of 
$2.64  per  hive  for  feeding  the  honey  back,  and  get- 
ting it  stored  in  combs.  Indeed,  there  was  a gain 
larger  than  this,  though  it  came  in  a way  entirely 
unexpected  by  me.  I had  calculated  that  my 
boxes  contained  two  and  a half  pounds  of  comb- 
honey.  On  sending  them  to  market,  later  in  the 
season,  I found  the  custom  was  to  sell  such  boxes 


COMB  HONEY. 


Ill 


by  gross  weight.  The  wood  and  glass  in  each  box 
weighed  one-half  a pound,  hence  the  gross  weight  of 
each  box  was  three  pounds.  The  half  pound  of 
glass  and  wood  in  the  box  brought  me  the  worth  of 
a half  pound  of  honey.  So  that  I made  a gain  of 
one-fifth  in  the  gross  weight  of  my  honey  by  having 
it  stored  in  the  boxes.  The  boxes  sold  for  a good 
deal  more  than  they  cost  me  in  the  first  place. 
This  does  not  seem  right,  and  yet  after  looking  the 
matter  all  over  I could  not  see  where  I had  been  at 
fault.  I sent  to  the  wholesale  dealer  what  I rated  as 
two  and  a half  pounds  of  honey.  He  sold  it,  and 
sent  me  returns  for  three  pounds.  All  could  see  just 
what  they  were  purchasing,  and  need  not  buy  unless 
they  chose.  I found  that  my  honey  was  quickly 
taken  from  the  hands  of  the  wholesale  merchants, 
and  that  the  retailers  sold  it  readily  to  the  con- 
sumers at  somewhat  more  than  the  regular  market 
price.  It  is  only  an  illustration  of  the  fact  that 
people  will  buy  a very  nice  article,  and  that  it  pays 
to  put  whatever  you  have  for  sale  in  an  attractive 
shape. 


X. 


FALL  FLOWERS. 

By  my  advice  Will  had  sowed  on  our  farm  eight 
acres  of  buckwheat.  It  was  much  more  than  we 
usually  sowed,  but  we  knew  that  the  grain  would 
give  a fair  profit  on  the  labor  and  expense,  hence 
whatever  honey  the  bees  should  make  from  it 
would  be  clear  gain.  I had  offered  to  furnish  seed 
to  as  many  of  the  neighboring  farmers  within  two 
miles,  as  would  sow  a patch  of  buckwheat  on  their 
farms,  and  had  been  called  upon  to  furnish  thirty-four 
bushels  for  this  purpose,  which  had  cost  me  $42.50. 
There  were  forty-three  acres  of  buckwheat  within 
two  miles  of  our  place.  Most  of  it  had  been  sown 
a little  later  than  ours,  and  hence  would  open  later. 

Our  buckwheat  began  to  open  August  20th.  The 
next  day  I prepared  the  supers  for  the  reception  of 
the  fall  harvest.  There  was  nothing  to  do  but  to 
put  in  all  the  frames  of  drone  comb  and  then  fill 
them  up  with  empty  frames.  The  hives  having 
thus  been  put  in  order  I could  do  no  more.  The 
bees,  the  buckwheat,  and  the  other  fall-flowers,  must 
do  the  rest. 


1 12 


FALL  FLOWERS. 


113 

Buckwheat  rapidly  opened  until  great  fields  of 
white  lay  all  around  us,  and  the  air  was  densely 
laden  with  its  heavy  perfume.  It  yielded  honey 
most  bountifully,  as  buckwheat  often  does  in  favor- 
able years  , though  sometimes  it  gives  scarcely  any. 
The  hives  were  not  yet  so  full  of  bees  as  they  had 
been  before  the  new  swarms  were  made,  but  the 
brood  was  rapidly  hatching  in  every  one  of  them. 
The  buckwheat  yielded  so  profusely  that  they 
seemed  to  gather  honey  as  fast  as  during  linn  bloom. 
September  2nd,  twelve  days  after  putting  on  the 
supers,  they  were  full  enough  to  begin  extracting. 
That  day  I extracted  from  twenty  hives,  aud  kept 
taking  twenty  a day  until  all  were  done.  I got  an 
average  of  fifty-seven  pounds  per  colony, — 5529 
pounds  from  the  ninety-seven  swarms. 

Bees  could  have  had  no  better  pasturage.  In 
addition  to  the  buckwheat  there  was  now  a very 
large  quantity  of  heartsease,  a plant  resembling 
smartweed,  and  often  called  by  that  name;  but  it 
is  not  smartweed,  as  anyone  can  tell  by  tasting  the 
leaves.  The  leaves  of  smartweed  have  a very  pun- 
gent, acrid  taste  ; but  the  leaves  of  heartsease  are 
nearly  tasteless.  From  smartweed  no  honey  is 
gathered,  but  heartsease  is  one  of  the  best  honey 
plants.  It  grew  all  around  me,  in  every  cultivated 
field,  by  road-sides,  and  along  fences  and  streams. 
Then  the  swamps  and  borders  of  the  woods  were 


THE  BLESSED  BEES. 


1 14 

full  of  boneset,  and  goldenrod,  and  aster,  all  of 
which  yield  much  good  honey.  It  was  a bewilder- 
ing array  of  sweets  for  the  joy  of  the  eager  bees. 
They  worked  on  buckwheat  until  about  eleven 
o’clock  each  day,  then,  if  the  sun  was  bright,  the 
flow  of  honey  seemed  to  cease  in  buckwheat,  and 
they  betook  themselves  to  other  flowers,  on  which 
they  worked  until  darkness  drove  them  heavily 
laden  to  the  hives.  Bees  were  getting  more  abund- 
ant now,  and  pasturage  was  even  better  than  when 
buckwheat  first  opened. 

Frosts  usually  come  in  my  vicinity  about  the 
tenth  of  September.  Only  a few  days  more  would 
surely  close  honey-gathering  for  the  year.  I watched 
the  weather  with  much  interest.  From  the  im- 
mense area  of  bloom  the  bees  were  gathering  rapid- 
ly. Every  day  of  good  weather  now  meant  nearly 
a thousand  pounds  of  honey  for  my  hives.  The 
weather  continued  delightful,  and  the  hives  again 
grew  heavy  with  their  luscious  stores.  September 
nth  there  was  danger  of  a frost.  At  six  o’clock 
the  thermometer  stood  at  43  F.,  and  the  weather 
was  growing  colder.  If  the  night  continued  clear 
the  mercury  would  be  below  32  F.  before  morning. 
But  happily  a change  of  wind  brought  propitious 
clouds,  and  we  escaped.  In  the  morning  it  was 
warmer  again.  Four  days  more  of  beautiful 
weather,  then  on  the  afternoon  of  the  fifteenth 


FALL  FLOWERS, . 


115 

came  a sudden  change.  A north  wind  set  in  about 
four  o’clock.  The  bees  rapidly  sought  the  hives. 
The  sky  was  cloudless.  By  six  o’clock  the  ther- 
mometor  was  down  to  37  F.  It  was  now  quite  cer- 
tain that  we  should  have  frost  before  morning. 

The  clear  September  night  was  most  inviting. 
The  stars  shone  out  with  a pure  lustre.  The  wind 
had  gone  down  and  the  trees  were  silent.  I put  on 
a thick  coat  and  strolled  out  into  my  city  of  hives, 
whose  millions  of  lilliputian  workers  had  given  me 
so  many  happy  hours  as  the  spring  and  summer  and 
fall  had  gone  by.  They  had  richly  repaid  all  my 
care.  I had  studied  all  their  instincts,  and  had  so 
managed  as  to  adapt  every  circumstance  to  their 
needs.  Faithful  to  those  instincts,  they  had  availed 
themselves  of  every  effort  on  my  part  to  facilitate 
their  work.  Now,  on  this  calm  night,  had  come  the 
end  of  their  gathering  from  field,  and  swamp,  and 
forest.  I looked  at  the  thermometer  which  had 
been  hung  among  the  hives.  At  ten  o’clock  it 
stood  at  33  F.  In  that  still  clear  air  it  would  con- 
tinue falling,  and  before  morning  the  delicate  cryst- 
als of  the  merciless  frost  would  blight  the  bloom  far 
and  near.  When  the  morrow’s  sun  should  send 
down  its  genial  rays,  the  millions  of  flowers  would 
hang  with  faded  beauty  on  lifeless  stems,  no  longer 
the  fairy  laboratories  for  perfecting  the  nectar^ 
which  my  faithful  bees  should  gladly  bring  to  the 


Il6  the  blessed  bees. 

waiting  hives.  I walked  slowly  along  the  rows  of 
hives  and  touched  them  with  caressing  hand.  I put 
down  my  ear  to  catch  in  its  fullness,  their  deep  con- 
tented roar.  I sat  down  in  my  favorite  seat  under 
a spreading  apple-tree,  where  during  the  last  five 
months  I had  so  often  sat  by  day  and  by  night,  to 
have  silent  converse  with  my  speechless  friends. 
All  around  me,  in  the  dim  shadows  of  the  orchard, 
were  the  hives  ; beyond  rose  the  dark  masses  of  the 
maple  forest ; above  shone  the  silent  stars.  The 
months  had  gone  by  full  of  labor,  of  care,  of  self- 
denial,  but  most  rich  in  experiences,  precious  to  me 
especially  in  their  lessons  of  labor  and  independ- 
ence. A glad  feeling  of  gratitude  welled  from  my 
heart  to  Him  whose  laws  made  flowers  and  bees, 
and  through  whose  mysterious  leadings  I had  come 
to  this  happy  work.  Surely  from  Him  had  come 
benedictions  upon  my  blessed  bees. 

I sat  under  the  tree  or  walked  among  the  hives 
until  twelve  o’clock.  Before  going  to  my  room  I 
looked  again  at  my  thermometer.  It  stood  at  29  F. 
Already  the  delicate  frost  was  forming  its  crystals 
all  over  the  country.  I went  to  bed  with  a feeling 
of  release  from  absorbing  care.  The  five  months 
just  passed  had  been  given  to  constant  and  laborious 
attention  to  the  bees.  Now  the  crisis  of  my  work 
was  passed.  It  only  remained  to  store  the  honey 


FALL  FLOWERS . IT 7 

in  combs  for  market,  and  to  prepare  my  little  friends 
for  the  winter. 

Next  morning  I was  out  at  five  o'clock.  The 
frost  lay  thick  and  white  on  field  and  wood. 


XI. 


MORE  COMB-HONEY. 

THOUGH  the  frost  had  cut  off  the  most  of  the 
flowers,  and  honey  gathering  had  nearly  ceased,  the 
weather  for  a month  longer  would  be  mostly  clear 
and  warm.  The  nights  would  often  be  cool,  there 
would  now  and  then  be  a stormy  day,  but  on 
the  whole  it  would  be  warm  enough  for  the  bees  to 
work  well  in  storing  honey  in  the  comb.  I at  once 
extracted  all  that  was  in  the  supers,  and  obtained 
sixty-one  pounds  per  hive, — 6,017  pounds  from  the 
ninety-seven  hives.  This  made  the  whole  full  har- 
vest amount  to  11,564  pounds.  The  white  clover 
had  all  been  put  in  comb  before  fall  harvest.  Of 
the  linn  harvest  there  was  yet  in  the  barrels  2,893 
pounds,  in  all  14,457  pounds,  now  to  be  stored  in 
combs. 

On  examination  I found  that  the  combs  in  the 
lower  stories,  except  the  two  end  ones,  were  about 
two-thirds  full  of  brood.  To  have  this  large  amount 
of  brood  coming  forward  at  this  season  was  what  I 
especially  desired,  for  the  young  bees  were  the  ones 
118 


MORE  COMB-HONEY. 


1 19 

that  would  have  strength  to  live  over  winter,  and 
would  gather  the  pollen  and  early  honey,  and  nurse 
the  growing  brood  in  the  spring.  But  as  the  lower 
stories  were  so  full  of  brood  there  was  not  honey 
enough  stored  in  them  to  feed  the  bees  during  the 
winter,  and  also  the  brood  that  would  be  started  in 
the  spring,  before  any  honey  could  be  gathered.  I 
calculated  that  it  would  take  about  twenty  pounds 
per  hive  to  supply  them,  and  set  aside  this  amount, 
1,940  pounds,  from  the  buckwheat  honey.  This 
left  12,517  pounds  to  be  stored  in  boxes  for  market. 

The  boxes  were  ready,  and  were  at  once  put  on. 
Two  tiers,  enough  to  contain  eighty  pounds  of 
comb-honey  were  put  on  each  hive.  Then  the 
feeding  went  on  rapidly.  It  is  generally  an  injury, 
bo:h  to  bees  and  honey,  for  bees  to  fly  much  in 
search  of  stores  after  frosts  have  killed  the  flowers. 
The  bees  themselves  are  worked  out  in  their  eager 
search.  And  as  they  find  scarcely  any  good  honey, 
they  often  gather  quantities  of  juice  from  grapes, 
from  decaying  apples,  and  from  cider  mills.  They 
will  collect,  too,  the  sweet  excretions  of  many  spe- 
cies of  plant  lice,  that  are  often  found  in  myriads  on 
certain  kinds  of  trees.  These  unhealthy  juices  they 
store  in  the  hive,  and  then  in  cold  weather  they 
consume  this  bad  food,  and  being  unable  to  fly  out 
and  void  their  feces,  they  contract  dysentery  or 
“bee-cholera,”  and  often  perish  in  great  numbers 


120 


THE  BLESSED  BEES. 


from  this  cause  alone.  By  keeping  my  bees  in  the 
hive,  during  the  early  fall  days,  at  work  building 
comb  and  filling  it  with  honey,  they  would  be  saved 
from  collecting  this  poisonous  food,  and  from  its 
fatal  consequences  in  the  winter.  So  I fed  them  all 
they  would  take,  and  fed  them  in  the  morning,  so 
as  to  keep  them  from  flying  out. 

In  nine  days  the  boxes  were  full  and  the  honey 
sealed.  They  were  taken  off  and  stored  in  the  shop. 
To  thirty-one  swarms  I had  fed  only  linn  honey:  to 
the  others  buckwheat.  I found  that  all  boxes  came 
off  in  good  condition.  They  were  full  of  honey, 
and  every  cell  was  sealed,  so  that  there  was  no 
leaking.  After  removing  the  first  set  of  boxes,  the 
bees  were  given  a vacation  of  five  days.  I feated 
that  too  great  an  amount  of  honey,  quickly  fed  to 
them,  might  overwork  them,  and  make  them  lazy. 
If  nothing  were  fed  them  for  five  days  they  would, 
it  seemed  probable,  return  to  work  with  avidity. 

I had  now  fed  to  the  hives  8,730  pounds.  This 
left  3,787  pounds — not  quite  enough  to  get  forty 
pounds  of  comb-honey  from  each  of  eighty-four 
hives.  But  there  were  one  hundred  and  thirty 
pounds  of  honey  from  apple  blossoms  still  on  hand, 
and  I could  spare  enough  from  that  which  had  been 
set  aside  for  the  bees,  to  insure  the  filling  of  the 
boxes.  So  I put  on  each  of  eighty-four  hives, 
boxes  for  forty  pounds,  as  soon  as  the  “ vacation” 


MORE  COMB-HONEY. 


121 


was  over,  and  fed  again  rapidly.  The  eager  and 
obedient  bees  responded  at  once.  They  worked 
most  industriously,  and  in  eight  days  more  every 
box  was  filled.  The  weather  was  a little  cool,  and 
they  did  not  seal  it  so  readily  as  at  first,  but  two 
days  later  it  was  sealed.  The  year’s  harvest  was 
stored  in  combs. 

From  maples  and  apple  blossoms  the  yield  had 
been  2,100  pounds.  After  swarming  time  3,880 
pounds  of  white  clover  and  linn  had  been  put  in 
combs,  and  now  again  of  linn  2,480  pounds.  Of 
buckwheat,  and  other  fall  flowers,  the  yield  was 
8,640  pounds.  The  product  of  the  year  was  17,100 
pounds  of  comb-honey,  as  beautiful  as  one  could 
wish  to  see.15 


XII. 


PREPARING  FOR  WINTER. 

My  studies  in  the  literature  of  bee-keeping  had 
taught  me  that  wintering  was  a rock  upon  which 
the  business  had  often  foundered.  The  bee-keeper 
has  had  fair  success  in  securing  honey ; his  increase 
of  swarms  has  been  sufficient;  he  goes  into  winter 
quarters  with  a large  number  of  stocks,  and  has 
great  expectations  for  the  next  year.  But  these 
expectations  are  doomed  to  bitter  disappointment. 
His  bees  die  during  the  winter  and  spring.  Even 
his  largest  swarms  dwindle  down  to  a handful,  or 
entirely  disappear.  From  his  two  or  three  score 
stocks,  in  apparently  good  condition  in  the  fall,  he 
will  have  in  the  spring  scarcely  a half  dozen  weak 
and  dispirited  ones.  He  throws  up  bee-keeping  in 
disgust. 

It  was  long  thought  that  this  state  of  things  could 
not  be  helped.  Success  depended  entirely  upon 
“ luck.”  Bees  wintered  well  or  ill  without  any  par- 
ticular cause  for  the  one  or  the  other.  Not  seldom 
the  good  farmer  still  puts  his  bees  into  box  hives, 
122 


PREPARING  FOR  WINTER . 


123 


sets  them  out  where  grass  and  weeds  soon  almost 
stop  up  the  entrances,  allows  them  to  swarm  so 
much  as  to  weaken  every  stock,  and  then  to  go  into 
winter  quarters  with  insufficient  and  inferior  stores. 
They  nearly  all  die  in  wintering.  Then  he  com- 
plains of  his  “ poor  luck/’  But  of  course  there  was 
and  is  no  luck  about  it.  It  was  foreordained  from 
the  foundation  of  the  world  that  bees  so  kept  should 
die  in  winter.  Suppose  a cow  were  kept  in  an  open 
yard  during  the  snows  and  zero  blasts  of  December, 
with  only  a hundred  pounds  of  hay  for  the  month, 
would  she  not  be  dead  long  before  the  month  was 
past?  Would  any  body  say  her  death  was  due  to 
“poor  luck?”  Would  not  everybody  condemn  her 
owner  as  a foolish  and  inhuman  man  ? If  fifty  cows 
were  tied  in  a small  unventilated  stable,  fed  only  a 
meagre  amount  of  spoiled  hay  each  day,  and  al- 
lowed to  wallow  for  months  in  their  own  filth,  many 
of  them  would  surely  die  before  spring,  and  if  any 
survived,  they  would  be  but  walking  skeletons. 
Horses,  cows,  pigs  and  sheep  keep  in  fat  and 
healthy  condition  through  the  winter,  when  their 
keepers  obey  the  laws  that  control  the  lives  of  the 
animals.  These  laws  demand  that  the  animals  shall 
have  good  food,  good  shelter  and  good  ventilation. 
If  these  conditions  are  not  complied  with,  the  ani- 
mals will  die,  or  come  out  sickly  in  the  spring,  yet 
nobody  says  they  die  because  of  the  owner’s  “ bad 


124 


THE  BLESSED  BEES. 


luck,”  but  because  of  his  folly  in  not  taking  good 
care  of  them.  Bees  will  live  through  the  winter, 
and  come  out  healthy  in  the  spring,  if  we  give  them 
the  conditions  natural  to  the  bee,  if  we  obey  the 
laws  of  bee  life. 

From  all  I could  learn  on  the  subject  by  reading 
and  reflection,  it  seemed  that  successful  wintering 
depended  on  certain  conditions,  which  were  entirely 
under  my  control. 

1.  The  hives,  when  winter  comes  on,  should  be 
well  stocked  with  young  bees.  If  brood  rearing 
ceases  early  in  the  fall,  so  that  only  old  bees  are  in 
the  hive  when  winter  begins,  they  will  naturally  die 
before  spring,  even  if  they  have  good  stores,  good 
ventilation  and  a proper  temperature. 

2.  The  hive  should  have  from  twenty-five  to  thirty 
pounds  of  healthy  sealed  honey.  If  the  stores  con- 
sist largely  of  juice  from  grapes  and  apples,  or  of 
the  excretions  of  plant-lice,  the  bees  will  surely  con- 
tract disease,  and  will  die  a miserable  death.  Be 
sure  that  they  have  good  sealed  honey,  or  if  this  is 
impossible,  feed  them  good  sugar  syrup  in  time,  so 
that  they  can  seal  it  in  the  combs  before  cold 
weather. 

3.  Often  the  moisture  from  the  breath  of  the  bees 
condenses  on  the  sides  of  the  hives,  and  on  the 
combs,  and  freezes,  so  that  in  cold  weather  the  bees 
will  be  almost  encased  in  ice,  and  in  warm  weather 


PREPARING  FOR  WINTER. 


125 


will  have  damp,  moldy,  unhealthy  combs.  If  there 
is  put  over  the  combs,  on  the  frames,  a porous  ab- 
sorbent covering,  this  will  take  up  the  moisture  as 
it  arises  from  the  bees,  and  give  the  hive  sufficient 
ventilation. 

4.  Many  people  suppose  that  bees  freeze  up  in 
the  winter;  that  after  cold  weather  comes  they  may 
remain  frozen  for  weeks,  or,  it  may  be,  months. 
This  is  a mistake.  Bees  that  live  through  the 
winter  do  not  freeze.  A frozen  bee  is  as  effectually 
dead  as  a frozen  human  being.  As  cold  weather 
comes  on  the  bees  gather  in  a compact  mass  in  the 
centre  of  the  hive.  Their  honey  supplies  them  with 
food.  This  food  is  the  fuel  that  feeds  the  little 
vital  fire  in  each  of  them.  By  their  being  in  a dense 
cluster  this  heat  is  kept  from  radiating,  and  thus 
the  mass  of  bees  is  kept  above  freezing  temperature, 
however  cold  may  be  the  winter,  even  in  northern 
latitudes.  The  wise  bee-keeper  can  do  much  to 
help  his  little  friends  in  their  battle  against  winter. 
He  can  give  them  good,  close  hives;  can  surround 
these  hives  with  non-conducting  material,  and  so 
aid  in  confining  the  heat  generated  by  the  bees ; 
and  can  put  the  hives  into  a suitable  store-house, 
or  cellar,  where  he  can  keep  the  temperature  con- 
stantly at  about  forty  degrees.  Bees  so  cared  for 
will  winter  perfectly,  and  come  out  in  the  spring 
healthy,  active,  strong.  As  they  will  keep  rearing 


126 


THE  BLESSED  BEES. 


a small  amount  of  brood  all  winter,  they  will  proba- 
bly come  out  stronger  in  the  spring  than  they  were 
in  the  fall. 

Bearing  these  principles  in  mind,  I prepared  for 
winter.  First  the  hives  were  looked  over,  and  two 
of  the  combs,  having  no  brood,  and  the  smallest 
amount  of  honey,  were  taken  out.  In  nearly  every 
case  they  were  the  end  combs  in  front  and  rear. 
The  feeders  were  then  brought  into  use  again. 
This  time  they  were  hung  in  the  lower  stories,  in 
the  rear  end.  In  each  of  the  ten  combs  left  in  the 
hive,  there  was  some  honey  in  the  top  part,  about 
two  pounds  to  a comb,  on  an  average.  I fed  to 
each  hive  twelve  pounds  of  honey,  which  the  bees 
quickly  put  in  the  combs,  and  capped  a few  days 
later.  The  feeders  were  taken  out  as  soon  as  the 
feeding  was  done,  and  a close  division  board  put  in. 
Then  two  narrow  strips  of  board,  one-half  inch  thick, 
were  laid  one-half  inch  apart,  lengthwise,  of  the 
hives  on  top  of  the  frames.  The  duck  covers,  which 
had  been  used,  during  the  summer,  were  left  off, 
and  the  thick  comforts,  made  by  quilting  woolen 
carpet  between  common  muslin,  were  put  on.  This 
gave  to  every  hive  a warm  absorbent  cover.  Im- 
mediately under  the  cover,  between  the  two  strips 
of  board,  there  was  the  clear  half-inch  passage,  from 
end  to  end  of  the  hive.  As  this  passage  was  at  the 
top  of  the  hive,  where  the  warm  air  collects,  it  would 


PREPARING  FOR  WINTER. 


1 27 


give  the  bees  safe  and  easy  access  to  every  comb, 
even  in  the  coldest  weather.  Then,  putting  on  the 
lids  of  the  hives,  they  were  in  readiness  to  take  to 
the  cellar  as  soon  as  the  cold  weather  of  the  last  of 
November  should  come. 

Attention  was  then  given  to  the  cellar.  This  had 
always  been  dry,  and  safe  from  frost.  The  experi- 
ence of  the  past  winter  proved  that  bees  could  be 
wintered  in  it  safely.  Shelves  were  put  up  so  that 
rows  of  hives  could  be  set  so  as  to  come  one  foot 
under  the  floor  above.  By  putting  them  so  high 
above  the  cellar  bottom  they  were  kept  from  what 
ever  damp  unhealthy  air  there  might  be  near  the 
bottom.  The  shelves  were  supported  by  standards 
resting  on  the  cellar  bottom.  It  would  have  been 
much  easier  to  have  sustained  the  shelves  by  hang- 
ing them  from  the  sleepers  of  the  floor  above,  but 
if  sustained  in  this  way  every  footstep  on  the  floor 
would  have  communicated  a slight  jar  to  the  hives, 
and  so  the  bees  would  have  been  constantly  dis- 
turbed. By  having  the  shelves  sustained  by  sup- 
ports resting  on  the  cellar  floor,  this  danger  of  jar- 
ring, and  consequent  agitation  of  the  bees,  was 
avoided.  The  shelves  were  so  arranged  that  when 
the  hives  should  be  put  in,  I could  have  instant  ac- 
cess to  every  one  of  them. 

The  windows  of  the  cellar  were  darkened  by  tack- 
ing old  carpet  upon  the  sash,  both  inside  and  out. 


128 


THE  BLESSED  BEES. 


This  also  served  to  protect  them  sufficiently  against 
frost  in  all  ordinary  weather.  Some  bundles  of 
straw  were  prepared  for  piling  outside  against  ex- 
treme cold  weather.  The  windows  were  on  hinges, 
so  as  to  open  readily.  In  warm  winter  weather 
they  could  be  thrown  open  at  night  to  ventilate 
the  cellar,  and  to  cool  it  down  to  about  thirty-eight 
degrees.  A ventilating  flue  was  put  in  at  each  side 
also,  in  case  they  should  be  needed  in  extreme  cold 
weather.  These  flues  were  simply  square  wood 
pipes  put  at  the  top  of  the  cellar  walls  just  under 
the  upper  floor,  going  through  the  walls,  and  turn- 
ing up  at  a right  angle.  They  could  be  opened  and 
shut  instantly.  The  inner  doorway  to  the  cellar 
was  from  the  kitchen.  By  keeping  this  doorway 
open  in  extreme  cold  weather,  there  would  be  some 
circulation  of  air  between  cellar  and  kitchen,  and  in 
this  way  the  cellar  be  somewhat  warmed  by  heat 
from  the  kitchen  stove. 

The  1 8th  of  November  the  weather  became  cold. 
The  thermometer  sunk  to  twenty-five.  It  was  clear 
and  dry.  Making  a hand-barrow  large  enough  to 
carry  two  hives  at  a time,  Will  and  I carried  them 
in,  and  ranged  them  in  order  on  the  shelves.  Every 
hive  was  numbered,  and  its  stand  in  the  orchard 
had  the  same  number,  so  that  in  carrying  them  out 
no  confusion  need  be  made  by  placing  hives  on 
wrong  stands.  It  is  not  the  intention  of  this  record 


PREPARING  FOR  WINTER. 


129 


to  enter  upon  the  work  of  my  second  year,  but  I 
will  say  here  that  the  bees  wintered  most  excel- 
lently. Not  a hive  was  lost.  All  came  out  bright 
and  strong.  The  hives  had  mainly  young  bees  in 
the  fall ; they  had  plenty  of  pure  honey;  they  were 
kept  at  an  equable  temperature  of  about  forty  de- 
grees ; they  had  pure  dry  air.  With  such  condi- 
tions bees  will  always  winter  well.  Not  because  of 
“ good  luck,”  but  because  it  is  the  law  of  nature. 


XIII. 


MARKETING. 

After  the  hives  and  the  cellar  were  prepared  for 
winter,  attention  was  turned  to  marketing  the 
honey.  For  several  weeks  I had  been  sending  out 
letters  of  inquiry  as  to  best  methods  of  sending  to 
market,  best  markets,  best  commission  merchants, 
etc.  From  all  I could  learn  it  seemed  that  a crop 
of  honey  as  large  as  mine,  and  put  up  in  such  beau- 
tiful shape,  would  find  the  best  market  in  New 
York.  Moreover,  I intended  to  be  a large  producer 
of  honey  in  future  years,  and  it  was  wise  to  begin 
at  once  to  establish  a reputation  in  the  largest 
market,  as  a producer  of  a most  superior  article.  It 
was  decided  that  the  honey  should  be  sent  to  New 
York. 

The  only  means  of  sending  it  was  by  rail.  I 
feared  that  the  jar  on  the  railroads  might  break 
some  of  the  combs,  and  my  beautiful  honey  might 
reach  market  in  a mussy  mess.  I learned,  by  read- 
ing, that  large  crops  of  honey  were  sent  safely  by 
rail  from  California  to  New  York.  If  it  went  safely 
130 


MARKETING, 


131 

from  California,  then  surely  it  ought  to  go  safely 
from  Michigan.  I searched  all  the  journals  for 
hints  as  to  packing.  I sent  letters  to  the  promin- 
ent commission  merchants  in  several  of  the  large 
cities,  asking  how  the  honey  they  received  was 
packed.  I wrote,  also,  to  some  large  honey  pro- 
ducers, East  and  West,  asking  how  they  packed 
honey  for  transportation  on  the  cars.  From  these 
different  sources  of  information  I obtained  hints 
that  enabled  me  to  perfect  a plan  for  packing  the 
boxes  of  honey  in  crates,  and  then  packing  the 
crates  in  a car,  in  such  a way  that  all  would  go 
safely  over  so  great  a distance.  First,  crates  were 
to  be  made.  I took  my  accurate  measurements  and 
made  a crate,  by  hand,  of  the  right  size  to  contain 
sixteen  of  my  honey  boxes.  Then  this  crate  was 
taken  to  the  mill  at  Howard,  and  materials  ordered 
to  be  cut  out  for  450  crates.  This  material,  all 
nicely  cut  out  ready  for  nailing,  cost  me  twenty-six 
cents  per  crate.  Into  the  front  and  rear  sides  of 
each  crate  a long  narrow  pane  of  glass,  running  two- 
thirds  the  length  of  the  crate,  was  fitted.  This 
glass,  cut  to  size,  cost  me  seven  cents  per  crate. 
Will  and  I made  them  in  the  shop  at  home,  on  the 
bright  days  during  the  last  of  October,  after  all  the 
farm  work  was  done,  and  every  arrangement  had 
been  perfected  for  wintering  the  bees.  The  work 
was  light,  clean,  pleasant.  We  had  both  acquired 


132 


THE  BLESSED  BEES. 


sufficient  skill  to  work  with  some  rapidity,  and  could 
each  make  thirty  crates  a day,  without  working 
hard. 

When  the  crates  were  done,  preparations  were 
made  for  packing  them  in  the  cars  in  such  a way 
that  the  honey  would  not  be  injured  by  jarring. 
A quantity  of  strong,  durable  sacking  was  pro- 
cured, cut  into  proper  sizes,  sewed  up  into  large 
bags,  or  cushion-ticks,  and  filled  with  oat  straw. 
Then,  with  a large,  long  needle,  such  as  upholster- 
ers use,  I “ tied  ” them  so  that  they  looked  like  long 
narrow  mattresses.  When  done  they  were  six  feet 
in  length,  as  wide  as  the  crates  were  long,  and  fully 
eight  inches  thick.  There  were  a good  many  of 
them,  and  they  made  a formidable  pile,  stacked  on 
the  barn  floor  after  they  were  filled.  My  neighbors 
had  become  somewhat  more  cautious  in  their  criti- 
cisms, since  the  amount  of  my  honey  harvest  had 
been  noised  around  ; but  one  of  them  could  not 
help  saying  that  “ That  John  Allen  is  a singular  fel- 
ler. First  he  made  quilts  for  all  his  bees,  and  now 
I do  believe  he's  goin’  to  put’em  to  sleep  for  the 
winter,  in  straw  beds.  He's  got  a couple  of  wagon 
loads  of  beds  in  the  barn,  and  he  jest  keeps  his 
mouth  shet  as  tight's  a drum  about  'em.  Guess 
he'll  be  a knittin'  stockin's  for  'em  next." 

Only  one  item  now  remained  before  I could  be- 
gin packing  the  honey  in  the  crates.  I wanted  to 


MARKETING. 


133 


make  my  honey  advertise  my  business  as  widely  as 
possible.  To  this  end  it  would  be  wise  to  put  a 
neat  label  on  every  box  of  honey,  and  on  every 
crate,  so  that  wherever  boxes  and  crates  were  seen, 
they  would  state  the  producer's  name  and  location. 
I classified  the  honey  into  four  grades,  and  named 
the  grades  “ Apple  Blossoms,"  “ White  Clover," 
“ Linn,"  and  “ Fall  Flowers."  These  names  desig- 
nated, as  accurately  as  any  I could  think  of,  the  ex- 
act sources  whence  the  honey  was  gathered,  and 
they  were  attractive  names,  that  would  call  up,  in 
the  minds  of  all,  visions  of  the  beautiful  country  in 
the  time  of  apple  bloom, — 

“One  boundless- blush,  one  white-empurpled  shower 

Of  mingled  blossoms  ; ” — 

of  the  starry  carpet  of  green  and  white  which  in 
June  the  clover  spreads  over  hills  and  valleys;  of 
the  honey-dripping  lindens,  from  among  whose 
blooming  branches  the  eager  bees  * send  down  a 
soothing  murmur,  that  lulls  one  like  the  perfume  of 
the  lotus ; and  of  the  wild  forest  nooks,  and  lonely 
swamps,  and  brambly  hill-sides  that  assume  such 
gorgeous  hues  when  golden-rod,  and  asters,  and 
coreopsis  fling  out  their  brilliant  banners  in  August 
and  September. 

A good  name  for  my  place  would  also  help  to  ad- 
vertise my  business.  To  state  the  kind  of  honey, 
the  name  of  the  producer,  and  his  location  on  every 


134 


THE  BLESSED  BEES . 


box  and  crate  would  soon  make  the  grades  of  honey 
and  my  name  and  place  familiar,  and  so  would  se- 
cure me  a ready  market  at  good  prices.  To  hit 
upon  a good  name  for  my  apiary  was  not  so  easy  as 
it  had  been  to  give  suitable  names  to  the  grades  of 
honey.  The  name  must  be  short,  and  suggestive 
of  the  business,  and  yet  not  so  strongly  suggestive 
as  to  be  in  bad  taste.  “ Maplegrove,”  “ Linclen- 
wald,”  “ Linnswick,”  “ Clovernook,,,  “ Cloverfield,” 
all  these  were  good,  sufficiently  suggestive,  yet  not 
too  much  so.  I called  a family  council  to  choose 
from  among  these  the  name  of  our  home.  To  use 
a good  Quaker  phrase,  the  spirit  moved  us  to  agree 
upon  “ Linnswick.”  Then  I went  to  Howard  and 
procured  properly  printed  labels  for  boxes  and 
crates. 

Then  packing  was  begun.  First  upon  one  side 
of  each  box  was  neatly  pasted  a label,  setting  forth 
that  it  contained  white-clover  honey,  or  whatever 
kind,  made  by  Italian  bees,  in  Linnswick  Apiary, 
near  Howard  City,  Michigan;  John  Allen,  pro- 
prietor. Sixteen  of  these  boxes  were  then  packed 
in  a crate,  just  filling  it,  and  showing  the  beautiful 
honey  through  the  glass  in  the  sides,  the  lid  was 
screwed  on,  and  then  a large  label  having  the  same 
statement  was  put  on  each  end.  As  fast  as  ready 
the  crates  were  piled  on  the  barn  floor  ready  for 
loading  on  the  wagons,  to  be  taken  to  Howard. 


MARKETING . 


135 


It  was  all  to  be  packed  in  a single  car,  hence  it 
would  be  best  to  take  it  all  to  Howard  at  one  trip. 
I engaged  nine  of  the  neighbors  to  come  with  their 
large  wagons,  taking  special  pains  to  hire  those  who 
had  had  most  to  say  of  my  youthful  folly,  and  of 
my  new-fangled  notions  about  bees.  The  teams  were 
on  hand  at  five  o’clock  in  the  morning,  and  load- 
ing up  was  begun.  Now  came  the  first  use  for  the 
mysterious  “ straw  beds,”  which  had  given  so  much 
concern  to  some  of  the  neighbors.  Two  of  these 
were  laid  side  by  side  against  the  front  end  of  the 
wagon-box,  with  their  ends  running  up  against  the 
end  of  the  box  until  the  edge  of  the  ticks  reached 
the  top  of  the  box,  against  which  they  were  nailed. 
Then  others  were  laid  on  the  bottom  of  the  box, 
and  fastened  against  the  sides,  so  as  to  make  a thick 
straw  cushion  all  around.  Then  the  first  crates 
were  placed  snugly  against  the  cushioned  front  end, 
resting  of  course  on  the  cushions  on  the  bottom. 
In  this  way  the  honey  was  protected  from  sudden 
jars  on  the  road  to  Howard.  So  wagon  after  wag- 
on was  filled,  until  in  each  there  was  more  than 
seventeen  hundred  pounds  of  honey.  A number  of 
cushions,  not  needed  for  protecting  the  crates  in 
the  wagons,  were  placed  on  top  of  the  loads,  to  be 
used  first  in  preparing  the  car  for  receiving  the 
honey. 


136 


THE  BLESSED  BEES. 


The  men  had  been  bidden  to  come  without  their 
breakfasts,  and  now  all  went  into  the  rough  but 
pleasant  kitchen  of  our  large  log-house,  where  my 
mother  had  used  her  skill  in  preparing  a most 
savory  breakfast.  As  we  ate,  not  a few  questions 
were  asked  me  about  bees  and  honey,  and  my 
methods  of  managing.  Believing  that  any  attempt 
on  their  part  to  keep  bees  would  surely  result  in 
failure,  from  their  not  informing  themselves  thor- 
oughly as  to  methods,  and  not  attending  carefully 
to  the  bees,  I allowed  them  to  mystify  themselves 
with  the  belief  that  I had  some  profound  secrets  to 
which  my  success  was  due.  Of  course  I did  not 
tell  them  so.  Indeed,  I denied  it  strongly.  But 
my  denial  only  made  them  assert  it  more  positively. 
The  capacity  of  the  average  man  for  humbugging 
himself  is  simply  amazing.  Those  good  men  be- 
lieve to  this  day,  that  I have  some  powerful  charms 
for  managing  bees.  They  will,  perhaps,  read  this 
book  out  of  curiosity,  to  know  what  young  Allen 
says,  and  will  smile  with  a superior  look  and  say, 
“ Allen  has  written  a book,  but  then,  you  know,  he 
has  not  told  his  secrets.”  If  I were  to  charge  them 
fifty  dollars  each,  for  some  utterly  useless  “ charm  ” 
or  “secret,”  they  would  pay  it  willingly,  and  think 
it  cheap. 

After  breakfast  I mounted  my  wagon  and  started 
off,  at  the  head  of  the  procession  of  ten  teams. 


MARKETING. 


137 


Those  heavily-laden  lumber  wagons,  each  driven  by 
a brown-fisted  farmer,  were  for  me  a triumphal  caval- 
cade. They  were  the  irrefutable  witness,  to  the 
whole  neighborhood,  that  “ Allen’s  queer  notions  ” 
about  bees  had  produced  very  substantial  results. 
Before  noon  we  reached  Howard.  The  station-agent 
had  engaged  to  have  a car  ready,  and  we  drove  to  it 
at  once.  I had  brought  hammer  and  nails  from 
home.  Straw  cushions  were  held  against  the  forward 
end  of  the  car  so  that  they  just  came  down  to  the 
floor,  and  nailed  in  that  position.  It  took  but  a 
moment  to  cushion  the  whole  end.  Then  a cushion 
was  put  against  each  side  so  that  they  just  touched 
the  end  ones,  and  others  laid  across  from  side  to 
side  on  the  bottom  of  the  car.  Then  a tier  of 
crates  was  piled  on  these  bottom  cushions,  with  their 
ends  snuggly  pushed  against  the  cushioned  end  of 
the  car.  As  fast  as  a wagon  was  emptied  its  cushions 
were  used  on  the  sides  and  bottom  of  the  car.  I 
packed  every  crate  in  the  car  myself.  I had  thought 
out  my  system  of  packing,  and  was  determined  it 
should  succeed  if  care  could  command  success.  ^ A 
farmer,  near  Howard,  had  been  engaged  to  have  on 
hand  a load  of  oat-straw.  This  was  made  into  small 
bundles  and  closely  thrust  into  every  vacant  place, 
every  corner  and  crevice,  so  that,  when  the  last  crate 
was  placed,  my  year’s  harvest  was  closely  cushioned 
in  straw  all  around.  I could  see  no  reason  for  its 
not  reaching  New  York  in  safety. 


133 


THE  BLESSED  BEES. 


It  was  four  o’clock  when  the  work  was  done. 
The  agent  locked  the  car.  In  a few  minutes  the 
freight-train  left,  and  I saw  the  harvest  into  which 
had  gone  so  much  of  thought  and  labor  from  my- 
self, so  much  of  labor  and  instinct  from  my  friends, 
the  bees,  recede  from  the  station  towards  the  far- 
distant  market  in  the  great  city.  Soon  the  train 
passed  from  sight  around  a curve.  I started  for 
home  at  a somewhat  rapid  gait,  the  line  of  empty 
wagons  making  a noisy  but  merry  rattling  over  the 
hard  road.  Mother  had  engaged  to  have  supper  for 
us  at  half-past  six.  Before  that  hour  we  were  on 
hand.  A meal  had  been  prepared  to  which  the 
hungry  farmers  devoted  themselves  with  silent  as- 
siduity for  a quarter  of  an  hour.  Then  each  received 
his  pay,  three  dollars  and  a half,  and  went  home. 

It  had  been  a hard  day’s  work.  For  me  a day  of 
suppressed  but  intense  excitement.  When  the  men 
were  gone  I sat  down  in  the  easy  chair  before  the 
great  fire-place  in  mother’s  room.  Will  and  Lucy 
soon  joined  me,  and  mother  came  in  when  she  had 
attended  to  the  evening  work.  Something  of  my 
deep  interest  had  communicated  itself  to  them. 
They  said  nothing  of  the  honey  nor  of  the  summer’s 
work,  but  I knew  that  their  thoughts  often  went 
with  mine  to  the  laden  car  in  the  east-bound  train, 
and  that  with  me  they  not  unfrequently  dwelt  upon 
our  work  in  the  future.  We  played  some  games. 


MARKETING. 


1 39 


The  apples,  and  nuts,  and  cider  were  brought  in. 
Will  read  to  us  the  essay  on  “ Success,"  from  Emer- 
son's Society  and  Solitude  which  had  come  a few  days 
before.  Mother  sang  some  cheerful  ballads,  the 
first  time  since  father's  death  that  she  had  given  us 
the  sweet  old  songs.  When  I rose  to  go  up-stairs, 
her  “good  night,, my  son,"  was  sympathetic  with  a 
tone  of  courage. 


XIV. 


DEBIT  AND  CREDIT. 

The  next  morning  I sat  down  at  my  desk  and  be- 
gan to  make  out  the  balance  sheet.  Some  time 
would  elapse  before  I could  receive  returns  from 
New  York,  but  all  other  accounts  could  be  arranged, 
and  when  the  returns  for  the  honey  came,  they 
could  be  readily  entered,  and  the  results  of  the 
year’s  work  quickly  known. 

The  accounts  were  first  to  be  arranged  in  two 
classes.  Into  the  first  class  must  be  put  everything 
which  had  been  consumed  in  the  work  of  the  year, 
everything  which  might  be  called  current  expenses. 
Into  the  second  class  was  to  be  put  all  expenditures 
which  were  properly  considered  a permanent  invest- 
ment in  the  business.  The  accounts  had  been  care- 
fully kept,  and  the  work  of  arranging  them  was 
easy. 

As  the  work  had  grown  quite  unexpectedly  on  my 
hands,  large  expenses  had  been  incurred,  in  the 
hurry  of  the  season,  of  which  no  minute  record 
has  been  made  in  the  foregoing  pages:  honey- 
140 


DEBIT  AND  CREDIT . 


141 

boxes,  more  frames  and  hives,  and  barrels,  nails, 
paint,  duck,  packing-crates,  straw  cushions,  etc.,  etc. 
The  team  had  been  used  on  various  trips  after  bees, 
lumber,  hives,  and  barrels,  going  to  Howard  on 
business,  drawing  honey  to  the  station.  I found  the 
team  had  been  used  in  the  service  of  the  bees  six- 
teen full  days.  My  own  labor  in  connection  with 
the  team,  will  be  considered  in  another  item.  For 
team  I made  an  entry  of  two  dollars  per  day.  For 
teams  to  draw  honey  to  the  station  I had  paid 
$31.50.  My  own  labor  I valued  at  the  rate  I could 
have  received  for  teaching.  The  previous  winter  I 
had  received  $40  per  month  and  board.  Board  in 
my  neighborhood  among  farmers  was  worth  $10  per 
month,  making  my  wages  $50  per  month.  I knew 
that  I could  have  got  this  sum  for  teaching  even  in 
summer,  by  going  to  the  larger  villages  in  the  south- 
ern part  of  the  state.  For  seven  months  my  time 
had  been  given  mainly  to  the  bees,  Will  had  given 
some  labor  to  them,  but  this  was  offset  by  labor 
which  I had  done  on  the  farm  from  time  to  time, 
when  not  needed  among  the  bees. 

A large  item  of  current  expenses  was  the  honey- 
boxes,  of  which  6900  had  been  bought.  They 
would  be  sold  with  the  honey.  But  the  packing 
crates,  and  the  straw  cushions  would-be  returned, 
and  could  be  used  in  coming  years,  hence  they  must 


142 


THE  BLESSED  BEES. 


be  considered  an  investment.  The  expense  account 
was  finally  arranged  as  follows : 


6900  honey  boxes,  at  $3.50  per  100 

. 

. $241.50 

Expressage  on  same 

. 

4.50 

Labor  of  my  own  team 

, . 

. 32.00 

Labor  of  teams  drawing  honey 

• 

31.50 

Labor  of  self,  7m.  at  $50  per  m. 

• 

. 350.00 

34  bushels  of  buckwheat 

. 

42.50 

7,000  labels  for  boxes 

. 

35.00 

1,500  labels  for  crates  . 

. 

. 6.00 

Straw  for  packing  in  car 

. 

3.00 

Stationery  and  Postage 

• 

. 2.00 

All  other  items  were  properly  put 

$748.00 

in  the  invest- 

ment  account,  for  all  were  on  hand  in  the  shape  of 

tools,  materials,  hives,  or  bees. 

This  account  stood 

thus  : 

Sundries,  (p.  42)  ... 

. $358.89 

Fence,  (p.  46)  ... 

39-98 

Sundries,  (p.  51) 

16.95 

Expressage  on  Italians 

3.00 

800  frames,  at  $5.00  per  100 

. 40.00 

100  feeders,  at  30c. 

30.00 

2 tin  pails,  at  90c. 

1.80 

Expressage  on  frames  and  feeders 

3.25 

18  barrels,  at  $1.25 

22.50 

18  honey  gates,  at  50c. 

9.00 

Material  for  50  hives,  at  38c, 

. 19.00 

200  tin  rabbets,  at  i^c. 

3.00 

3 gallons  paint  at  $2.00 

6.00 

Oil,  turpentine,  putty, 

1.40 

5 yards  duck,  at  20c. 

. 1. 00 

Paint  brush  .... 

. 

•35 

DEBIT  AND  CREDIT. 


143 


Nails,  $1.15 

Cloth,  for  straw  cushions  . . . 19.40 

Sewing  same  . . . . . . 2.00 

450  packing  crates,  at  33c.  . . . 148.50 

Sugar,  for  feeding  in  the  Spring  . . 8.64 

The  17  hives  of  bees  left  by  my  father  . 85.00 


$830.81 


At  the  end  of  two  weeks  a letter  came  from  the 
commission  merchants. 

New  York,  November  i$tk,  18 — 

John  Allen,  Esq., 

Dear  Siry 

Your  consignment  of  honey  just  received  in  good 
order.  We  have  seldom  received  so  large  a quantity  from  one  grower 
in  such  good  shape.  We  shall  be  able  in  a few  days  to  return  you 
the  highest  market  price. 

Truly  Yours, 

Barton  & Grey. 

Three  days  later  came  another  letter. 

New  York,  November  16 th,  18 — 

John  Allen,  Esq., 

Dear  Sir , 

Herewith  we  inclose  to  you  draft  on  the  Park  Bank 
for  $3,744.52,  in  full  for  honey  sold,  as  follows  : 


2520  lbs. 

“ Apple  Blossoms,”  at  19c. 

$ 478.80 

3504  " 

“ White  Clover,”  at  24c. 

840.96 

4128  “ 

“Linn,”  at  24c. 

990.72 

10368  “ 

“ Fall  Flowers,”  at  18c. 

1866.24 

4176.72 

Less  freight,  drayage  and  commission, 

432.20 

$3,744-52 

144 


THE  BLESSED  BEES. 


Your  honey  took  the  highest  price.  You  will  observe  that  the 
boxes  were  weighed  and  sold  with  the  honey,  which  increased  the 
weight  of  each  box  one-half  a pound.  We  have  this  day  shipped  to 
you  the  cushion-ticks,  emptied  of  straw,  as  per  order.  The  empty 
crates  will  be  returned  soon.  We  hope  to  receive  your  consignments 
in  future.  Truly  Yours, 

Barton  & Grey. 

Subtracting  the  current  expenses  from  the  gross 
returns  gave  me  a net  cash  income  of  $2,966.52. 
The  investment  in  the  business  was  $830.81,  hence 
I had  a clear  cash  gain  of  360  per  cent . on  the  in- 
vestment. But  in  addition  to  this  cash  income 
there  was  a large  gain  from  increase  and  improve- 
ment of  stock.  I had  begun  the  season  with  thirty- 
seven  swarms,  including  the  one  Italian.  Estimat- 
ing the  seventeen  swarms,  left  by  my  father,  at 
$5.00  a swarm,  these  thirty-seven  were  worth,  before 
being  put  into  the  new  hives  in  the  spring,  $191. 
I had  improved  these  bees  by  the  introduction  of 
Italian  queens,  and  by  transferring  to  better  hives 
and  frames,  so  that  the  thirty-six  original  black 
stocks  were  now  pure  Italians,  and  in  a most  excel- 
lent hive.  I had  added,  also,  sixty  stocks  of  pure 
Italians  to  my  number.  These  Italians  of  my  rear- 
ing were  perfectly  pure.  No  better  bees  were  ever 
bred.  Italian  bees  no  better  than  mine,  and  in 
hives  inferior  to  mine,  were  then  selling  at  $15  per 
swarm.  In  order  to  be  on  the  safe  side  I estimated 
the  improvement  in  the  thirty-six  original  stocks  at 


DEBIT  AND  CREDIT. 


145 


$5.00  each, — $180  in  all.  The  sixty  new  stocks  I 
put  at  $10  each, — $600.  This  made  a gain  in  stock 
of  $780.  Adding  the  cash  gain  to  this  makes  the 
whole  gain  $3776.72.  There  was  to  show  for  this, 
either  cash  on  hand,  or  bees  worth  more  than  their 
estimated  value.  Dividing  this  whole  gain  by  the 
amount  of  the  investment  gave  a gain  of  454  per 
cent,  on  the  investment.  Prof.  Cook  had  said  the 
gain  was  often  500  per  cent.,  and  I had  read  similar 
accounts  in  the  journals.  My  gain  gave  me  satisfac- 
tion, even  if  it  was  smaller  than  some  reported. 


XV. 


CONSIDERATIONS. 

In  looking  over  this  record  of  my  first  year's  work 
it  will  be  best  for  all  to  keep  in  mind  certain  facts, 
that  have  an  important  bearing  upon  the  success 
attained. 

i.  I learned  the  theory  of  bee-keeping  as  thor- 
oughly as  a most  earnest  student  could  learn  it  from 
books  and  bee-journals.  Nothing,  of  any  real  value, 
that  had  been  printed  on  the  subject  of  modern  bee- 
keeping, was  neglected.  Then  I picked  out  some 
of  the  most  successful  bee-keepers,  and  carefully 
studied  every  item  that  had  come  from  them  in  re- 
gard to  their  work.  I studied  their  method  until  I 
became  imbued  with  their  spirit.  Thus  I learned 
how  they  operated,  and  was  able  to  begin  my  own 
work  with  a carefully  considered  system,  based  on 
the  practice  of  intelligent  men  who  had  made  bee- 
keeping a success. 

2.  The  theory  thus  learned  I applied  to  practice, 
not  in  the  spirit  of  slavish  copying,  but  with  con- 
stant observation,  and  a readiness  to  adapt  myself 
146 


CONSIDERA  TIONS. 


147 


and  my  practice  to  the  emergencies  of  the  case. 
Having  a thorough  knowledge  of  the  structure  and 
instincts  of  the  bee,  I had  a rational  basis  for  judg- 
ments as  to  the  probabilities  of  success  or  failure 
from  any  methods  of  work. 

3.  I was  constantly  among  the  bees.  One  of  the 
neighbors  said  he  “ guessed  that  John  Allen  jest 
slept  with  the  bees,  for  he  always  saw  him  around 
the  hives  the  last  thing  at  night,  and  the  first  thing 
in  the  morning.”  I was  always  working  among  the 
bees,  or  observing  them.  Observing  I found  just  as 
profitable  as  working,  for  it  led  to  the  best  methods 
of  work. 

4.  Early  in  the  season  I obtained  young,  strong, 
prolific  queens.  When  honey  was  coming  in  these 
queens  would  lay  rapidly.  When  no  honey  was 
coming  in  the  hives  were  fed  enough  to  keep  the 
queens  laying.  By  moving  combs  apart,  about 
every  second  day  in  the  early  part  of  the  season,  and 
inserting  an  empty  comb  in  the  center,  I gave  the 
queens  abundance  of  empty  cells,  in  which  to  de- 
posit eggs,  in  the  central  and  warmest  parts  of  the 
hives. 

5.  The  use  of  the  extractor  early  in  the  season 
also  kept  the  cells  empty  so  that  the  queen  had 
plenty  of  room  to  do  her  best.  Thus  when  the 
second  stories  were  put  on,  nearly  every  comb  in 
the  lower  stories  was  full  of  brood.  Hence,  as  the 


143 


THE  BLESSED  BEES. 


bees  had  little  chance  to  store  honey  in  the  lower 
stories,  they  began  at  once  to  work  in  the  second 
stories.  Then  as  the  brood  hatched  in  the  lower 
stories  the  queens  could  just  about  keep  the  cells, 
so  made  vacant,  supplied  with  eggs.  In  this  way  I 
reared  an  immense  number  of  bees.  A queen  lay- 
ing from  2,000  to  3,000  eggs  a day  soon  has  a very 
large  number  of  workers. 

6.  By  having  the  young  queens,  by  using  the 
extractor,  and  by  putting  on  the  second  stories  at 
the  right  time,  I kept  the  bees  from  swarming, 
hence  every  colony  was  in  the  strongest  and  best 
condition  for  work  when  the  honey  season  came. 

7.  By  the  frequent  use  of  the  extractor,  during  a 
flow  of  honey,  the  bees  were  stimulated  to  the 
greatest  efforts.  Finding  all  their  stores  taken  from 
them  they  redoubled  their  industry  in  order  to  make 
good  their  loss.  Thus  a large  quantity  of  honey 
was  obtained. 

8.  By  feeding  this  extracted  honey  back  to  the 
bees,  during  times  when  no  honey  could  be  gather- 
ed, I kept  them  employed  in  storing  it  in  comb,  in 
such  shape  as  to  secure  the  highest  market  price. 
By  extracting  frequently,  when  honey  could  be 
gathered,  I secured  a large  number  of  pounds.  By 
feeding  this  honey  back  to  the  bees  at  times  when 
otherwise  they  must  have  been  idle,  I obtained  this 
honey  in  nice  comb,  in  good  shape  for  market. 


CONS  ID  ERA  TIONS. 


149 


9.  By  the  system  of  nucleus-swarming  not  one  of 

the  hives  was  without  a laying  queen  for  more  than 
two  days,  except  the  two  which  were  used  for  rear- 
ing queen-cells.  It  was  only  when  introducing 
Italian  Queens  to  black  stocks,  that  any  hive  was 
without  a queen  even  for  two  days.  Only  two  hives 
were  needed  for  rearing  queen-cells.  When  just 
ready  to  hatch,  these  cells  were  given  to  nuclei. 
Here  they  hatched.  As  soon  as  they  were  fertilized 
and  began  to  lay,  the  nuclei  were  rapidly  built  up 
by  help  of  brood  and  bees  from  the  strong  hives. 
In  this  way  there  was  neither  hive  nor  nucleus  that 
was  without  a laying  queen  any  longer  than  was 
absolutely  necessary.  ^ 

10.  The  location  of  my  apiary  was  most  excellent. 
The  willows,  soft  maples,  sugar  maples,  and  apples, 
gave  good  early  pasturage.  The  profusion  of  white 
clover,  linn,  buckwheat  and  other  fall-flowers,  gave 
the  bees  a chance  to  revel  in  a wilderness  of  sweets, 
in  summer  and  fall. 

11.  The  weather,  for  the  whole  season  was  good 
for  gathering  honey.  Cold,  rainy  days  in  the  spring 
often  make  the  harvest  from  apple  blossoms  almost 
nothing;  too  much  rain  or  too  much  drouth  injures 
the  flow  from  white  clover ; sometimes,  for  what 
reason  is  unknown,  the  linn  secretes  scarcely  any 
honey  ; various  circumstances  often  make  the  fall 
harvest  exceedingly  light.  But  my  first  year  was 
one  calculated  to  give  delight  to  every  bee-keeper. 


THE  BLESSED  BEES . 


150 

If  these  eleven  considerations  are  borne  in  mind, 
my  first  year’s  work  will  be  seen  to  have  been  no 
more  successful  than  might  be  expected.  I had 
simply  been  able  to  take  advantage  of  the  condi- 
tions of  success  provided  by  nature. 

As  this  book  may  fall  into  the  hands  of  some  who 
will  become  interested  in  the  subject,  and  desire  to 
keep  bees,  either  on  a small  or  a large  scale,  it  is, 
perhaps,  best  to  call  their  attention  to  some  further 
considerations. 

12.  Those  who  have  not  examined  the  subject 
have  no  conception  of  the  difference  between  keep- 
ing bees  in  the  old  box-hives  and  keeping  them  in 
moveable  comb-hives,  and  by  aid  of  the  honey- 
extractor,  artificial  queen-rearing,  and  nucleus- 
swarming.  It  is  as  great  a difference  as  that  be- 
tween making  cloth  by  the  old  process  of  hand- 
carding,  hand-spinning,  and  hand-weaving,  and  mak- 
ing it  by  help  of  all  the  modern  machinery. 

13.  To  keep  bees  by  the  new  methods  requires  in- 
telligence and  energy.  Only  intelligent  men  and 
women  can  learn  the  structure  and  instincts  of  the 
bee,  and  then  wisely  adapt  the  management  to  the 
structure  and  instincts.  It  requires  energy,  for  only 
by  energetic  industry  can  the  bee-keeper  be  perfectly 
prepared  to  reap  the  harvest  of  honey  when  it 
comes ; only  by  energetic  industry  can  he  prepare 
his  bees  for  winter,  and  winter  them  without  loss. 


CONSIDERA  TIONS. 


151 

With  this  intelligence  and  industry  the  bee-keeper 
has  an  occupation  as  pleasant,  as  certain,  and  as 
profitable  as  almost  any  business  that  can  be  named. 

14.  Bee-keeping  is  a business  which  can  be  de- 
veloped to  a very  large  extent  indeed.  It  may  be 
made  a great  industry  like  grain-growing  and  stock- 
raising.  There  are  but  few  neighborhoods  in  the 
whole  country  where  bees  enough  are  kept  to 
gather  the  honey  which  the  flowers  of  field,  forest, 
orchard,  and  swamp  now  produce.  Prof.  Cook,  of 
the  Michigan  Agricultural  College,  says  that  at  a 
low  estimate  each  township  in  the  State  of  Michigan 
could  produce  every  year  honey  worth  $1,000.  Ex- 
tending this  calculation  over  the  whole  country  makes 
the  honey-producing  capacities  of  the  Union  more 
than  $23,500,000  a year.  I know  that  there  are  now 
not  a few  bee-keepers,  who  have  from  50  to  200 
hives,  who  realize  not  less  than  a thousand  dollars 
a year  from  their  bees.  These  men  work  with  intel- 
ligence and  energy.  Let  similar  intelligence  and 
energy  be  given  to  the  business,  by  a dozen  men  in 
every  township  in  the  Union,  and  the  honey  pro- 
duct would  be  immense,  giving  profitable  work  to 
large  numbers,  and  a healthful,  delicious,  and  beau- 
tiful article  of  food  to  the  whole  world.16 

15.  The  losses  from  wintering,  from  the  bee-moth, 
and  from  disease,  have,  hitherto,  served  to  make  the 
business  very  uncertain.  This  uncertainty  is  fast 


152 


THE  BLESSED  BEES. 


disappearing.  In  my  own  experience  I have  found 
no  trouble.  Wintering  bees  safely,  depends  upon 
conditions  which  the  bee-keeper  can  easily  secure. 
There  is  no  more  difficulty  or  danger  in  wintering  a 
hive  of  bees  than  in  wintering  a cow.  Know  the 
conditions  upon  which  the  life  of  the  bee  depends, 
then  comply  with  those  conditions.  This  is  the 
whole  secret.  These  conditions  can  be  known,  and 
can  be  complied  with.  They  are  now  known  and 
complied  with  by  not  a few  intelligent  bee-keepers. 
Those  who  have  seen  dozens  of  weak  swarms  of 
bees,  in  the  old  box-hives,  devastated  by  the  moth, 
suppose  that  the  moth  is  a formidable  enemy. 
Again  my  own  experience  enables  me  to  say,  posi- 
tively, that  the  moth  need  not  be  feared.  Give  the 
bees  plain  hives  that  have  no  lurking-places  for 
moths  and  grubs,  keep  the  hives  strong  in  bees,  and 
they  will  defend  themselves.  This  is  the  experience 
of  all  intelligent  bee-keepers.  Disease  among  bees 
has  been,  in  some  cases,  a great  scourge.  But 
remedies  have  been  discovered,  so  that  if  disease  ap- 
pears it  can  be  controlled.  Prudence  and  energy 
can  usually  prevent  disease  from  appearing. 

1 6.  “ But  the  stings,  how  about  the  stings  ? They 
are  what  we  fear  most.”  Well,  until  you  learn 
“ how  to  do  it  ” you  will  get  stung  somewhat.  It  is 
the  ordeal  of  initiation  to  the  fraternity  of  success- 
ful bee-keepers.  If  one  begins  carefully,  always 


CONSIDER  A TIONS. 


153 


knows  what  he  wants  to  do,  has  everything  prepared 
to  do  what  he  wants,  and  then  works  cautiously  so 
as  not  to  irritate  the  bees,  he  will  get  stung  very 
little.  In  a very  short  time  he  will  have  no  fear  of 
stings  at  all,  and  will  get  stung  very  seldom. 

1 7.  Bee-keepers  will  always  be  of  two  classes. 
First,  there  will  be  those  who  will  keep  a few  swarms 
for  pleasure  and  profit,  but  whose  main  business  is 
something  else.  There  are  very  large  numbers  of 
men  and  women,  in  country,  village,  or  city,  who 
could  keep  a few  swarms  of  bees,  and  who  could  de- 
rive from  the  care  of  them  health,  recreation,  and  a 
small  profit.  Let  such  get  a book  on  bee-culture 
that  is  up  with  the  times,  subscribe  for  a good  jour- 
nal devoted  to  bee-culture,  get  a swarm  of  bees,  and 
go  to  work.  They  will  find  the  health  and  pleasure 
that  always  come  from  an  avocation  that  takes  the 
mind  from  the  regular  work,  and  they  will  get 
enough  profit  to  pay  them  for  their  time. 

18.  The  second  class  of  bee-keepers  will  be  those 
who  make  it  their  principal  or  only  business,  who 
follow  it  for  a livelihood.  There  are  not  a few  who 
already  do  this,  and  the  number  is  increasing  every 
year.  There  is  at  present  no  branch  of  rural  in- 
dustry that  offers  better  chances  for  success  to  the 
intelligent,  energetic  man  or  woman.  Begin  slowly, 
learn  the  business,  advance  surely.  Soon  a health- 
ful and  delightful  business  can  be  built  up,  which 


154 


THE  BLESSED  BEES . 


will  give  a fair  income.  There  will  be  some  who 
will  go  into  the  business  largely,  as  I have  done. 
There  are  now,  in  different  parts  of  the  country, 
many  men  who  number  their  hives  by  the  hundred, 
a few  who  number  them  by  the  thousand.  To  fol- 
low the  business  with  success,  in  this  way,  demands 
the  same  business  qualities  that  command  success  in 
other  callings.1* 

19.  Every  person  who  begins  bee-keeping  must 
not  expect  as  great  success  as  I had  the  first  year. 
There  are  very  few  who  will  study  the  business  as  I 
did  ; there  are  very  few  who  will  care  for  their  bees 
as  attentively  as  I did  ; there  are  very  few  who  can 
secure  locations  as  favorable  as  mine  ; it  is  not  always 
that  the  season  is  as  good  as  was  my  first  year. 
That,  when  the  conditions  are  as  favorable,  a success 
as  great  as  mine  can  always  be  achieved,  I am 
thoroughly  convinced.  I11  the  notes  to  this  volume 
I have  given  the  testimony  of  others  who  corroborate 
my  experience. 

20.  Possibly  I may,  in  future,  give  some  account 
of  my  subsequent  work,  which  will  show  even  a 
larger  success.  I will  only  say  here  that  by  supply- 
ing the  bees  with  continuous  pasturage,  from  early 
in  the  spring  until  frost  in  the  fall,  a very  large  yield 
of  honey  may  be  received.  Let  the  bee-keeper  se- 
cure a location  where  the  natural  pasturage  is  good, 
then  let  him  cultivate,  on  a somewhat  extensive 


CONSIDERA  TIONS. 


155 


scale,  plants  which  will  bloom  in  the  times  when 
natural  pasturage  fails,  keep  every  hive  very  strong  in 
bees,  and  he  may  receive  from  ten  to  twenty  pounds 
of  honey  per  day  from  each  hive,  for  several  months 
in  succession. 

21.  In  spite  of  my  warning  there  will  be  some 
who  will  rush  into  bee-keeping,  expecting  to  get 
rich  in  a year  or  two,  without  much  hard  work.  It 
was  so  with  fruit-growing.  People  became  wild,  and 
expected  to  make  a fortune  in  a short  time  from  an 
acre  or  two  of  strawberries.  Of  course  they  were 
disappointed.  So  every  person,  who  expects  to  get 
rich  quickly  by  keeping  a few  bees,  will  fail.  Money 
can  be  made  only  by  thorough  acquaintance  with 
the  business,  and  by  careful,  persistent  work  from 
year  to  year.  But,  in  spite  of  what  I say,  some  will 
get  bitten  by  beginning  bee-keeping  without  due 
preparation,  and  with  false  expectations.  When 
you  do  get  bitten,  please  to  remember  that  “ I told 
you  so.” 

Now  my  record  of  the  first  year’s  work  among  my 
bees  is  done.  To  write  this  account  has  been  a 
happy  task,  for  in  so  doing  I have  lived  over  again 
those  first  absorbing  months,  when  every  operation 
was  new,  and  every  success  was  a joyful  surprise  and 
a stimulus  to  greater  effort.  Looking  at  the 
pleasure  the  bees  have  brought  me  ; looking  at  the 
growth  of  character  which  has  come  from  the  lesson 


156  THE  BLESSED  BEES. 

of  industry  and  independence  learned  in  attending 
to  their  needs ; looking  at  the  books,  and  travels, 
and  means  of  culture  which  they  secured  for  my 
mother,  my  sister,  my  brother,  and  myself ; looking 
at  the  works,  of  which  my  father  had  only  distant 
dreams,  which  I have  wrought  through  their  help, 
they  have  surely  been  “ The  Blessed  Bees/' 


NOTES.. 

1.  Profits  of  Bee-keeping. — (Page  24.)  “ With  a small  number 

of  hives  I have  realized  $35  per  hive.” — J.  M.  Stephenson , Crawford 
Co .,  Penn.,  in  American  Bee  Journal,  Vol.  xiii.,  p.  14. 

Prof.  A.  J.  Cook,  of  the  Michigan  Agricultural  College,  Lansing, 
reports  in  1876  a net  profit  of  $24  05  per  hive. — American  Bee  Jour - 
nal,  Vol.  xiii.,p.  18. 

“This  business,  compared  with  other  agricultural  pursuits,  with 
me  at  least,  stands  the  test  pretty  well ; it  has  given  me  this  year  an 
income  of  $1,000  (after  paying  for  lumber  and  glass)  for  my  labor  on 
forty  stocks  of  bees.” — J.  P.  Moore , Binghampton,  N.  Y.,  in  Am- 
erican Bee  Journal , Vol.  xiii.,  p.  61. 

“We  know  by  past  experience  that,  when  well  managed,  they 
hardly  ever  pay  less  than  100 per  cent.,  and  often  as  much  as  500 per 
cent." — Dr.  Botts,  Barren  Co.,  Ky .,  in  Ame?ican  Bee  Journal,  Vol. 
xiii.,  p.  41 1. 

Mrs.  L.  B.  Baker,  of  Lansing,  Mich.,  reports  that  her  first  year  in 
keeping  bees  she  had  two  swarms  which  gave  her  a profit  of  $103  15 
or  $51  56  per  swarm.  The  next  year,  1875,  she  made  a profit  of 
$59  85  per  hive.  In  1876  her  profit  was  $19  05  per  hive. — Bee- 
keepers' Magazine,  Vol.  v.,  p.  90. 

2.  Increase  of  Bees. — (Page  29.)  Under  the  most  favorable 
conditions  bees  will  increase  in  numbers  very  rapidly.  Usually,  bee- 
keepers prefer  to  increase  their  stocks  somewhat  slowly,  for  slow  in- 
crease of  stocks  gives  a larger  amount  of  surplus  honey. 

C.  F.  Greening,  Grand  Meadow,  Minn. , reports  that  in  1877  he 
had  three  swarms  that  multiplied  in  one  year  to  nineteen. — American 
Bee  Journal,  Vol.  xiii. , p.  300. 

S.  G.  Rose,  Bluff  City,  111.,  says  he  had  six  swarms  in  one  year 
from  one  hive  of  Italians,  and  took  also  84  pounds  of  honey. — Am- 
erican Bee  Journal , Vol.  xiii . , p.  304. 

J.  M.  Glenn,  Jefferson  Co.,  Tenn.,  in  the  summer  of  1877,  in- 
creased one  swarm  of  Italians  to  nine  swarms,  and  took  also  210 
pounds  of  honey. — American  Bee  Journal,  Vol.  xiii.,  p.  341. 


158 


NOTES. 


C.  M.  Joslin,  M.  D.,  Saginaw  Co.,  Mich.,  reports  that  in  the 
spring  of  1876  he  had  two  swarms  of  Italians  in  the  Quinby  hive. 
During  that  summer  he  increased  these  to  thirty-four  swarms.  Am- 
erican Bee  Journal,  Vol.  xiii.,  p.  100. 

J.  S.  Marble,  Chanute,  Kansas,  reports  that  in  1876  he  increased 
one  swarm  to  thirteen,  and  took  also  450  pounds  of  honey.  He  fed, 
early  in  the  season,  88  pounds  of  sugar  to  promote  breeding.  Glean- 
ings in  Bee-Culture , Vol.  iv.,  p.  293. 

3.  Amount  of  Honey  per  Hive. — (Page  29.)  J.  E.  Pleasants, 

Los  Angelos  Co. , Cal. , says,  ‘ ‘ Last  spring  I had  forty-five  swarms, 
and  increased  to  one  hundred,  besides  getting  10,000  pounds  of  ex- 
tracted honey.” — This  gives  222  pounds  per  hive. — American  Bee 
Journal,  Vol.  xiii.,  p.  101.  , 

A.  A.  Baldwin,  Sandusky,  N.  Y.,  reports,  “ My  best  Italian  stock 
gave  one  swarm  on  May  28th,  and  from  the  two  I had  175  pounds  of 
box  honey.  The  best  Italian  stock  that  I kept  from  increasing  gave 
150  pounds  of  box  honey.” — American  Bee  Journal,  Vol.  xiii.,  p . 
420. 

G.  M.  Doolittle  reports  an  average  of  158  pounds  of  box  honey  per 
hive,  and  an  average  of  446  pounds  of  extracted  honey  per  hive. — 
Gleanings  in  Bee-Culture , Vol.  v.,  p.  263. 

4.  Movable-Comb  Hive. — (Page  35.)  The  movable-comb  bee- 
hive was  invented  by  the  Rev.  L.  L.  Langstroth,  about  the  year 
1850.  It  was  patented,  but  the  patent  expired  a few  years  since. 
Mr.  Langstroth,  now  in  honored  old  age,  lives  at  Oxford,  Ohio. 
His  invention  was  the  first  and  most  important  step  in  the  science  of 
modern  bee-culture.  Without  it  artificial  queen-rearing,  nucleus 
swarming,  and  using  the  honey  extractor  would  all  be  impossible. 
The  movable-comb  hive  is,  in  essentials,  simply  a box  with  a lid, 
like  a common  cheap  trunk,  provided  the  trunk  had  a hole  made  in 
one  end  or  side,  near  the  bottom,  for  an  entrance  for  the  bees.  The 
lid,  or  cover,  of  the  hive  is,  usually,  not  hinged.  Inside  this  box, 
near  the  top,  is  a rabbet  on  each  side,  or  on  each  end,  if  the  frames 
are  to  hang  lengthwise.  Frames  about  an  inch  in  width  are  made  so 
as  to  be  about  one-half  inch  smaller  than  the  inside  dimension  of  the 
box  or  hive.  The  top  bar  of  a frame  is  longer  than  the  bottom  bar, 
so  that  its  ends  rest  in  the  rabbets,  and  the  frame  hangs  down  in  the 
box.  The  hive  is  filled  with  these  frames  hanging  side  by  side, 
about  one  and  a half  inches  from  the  centre  of  one  frame  to  the 
centre  of  the  next.  In  these  frames  the  bees  build  their  combs.  By 
proper  care  on  the  part  of  the  bee-keeper,  the  bees  can  be  led  to 
build  their  combs  straight  and  true,  just  filling  the  frames.  Then,  to 


NOTES . 


159 


examine  the  condition  of  a hive,  the  bee-keeper  has  only  to  lift  off 
the  lid,  remove  a light  quilt  that  is  spread  on  top  of  the  frames,  and 
lift  one  frame,  or  all  the  frames,  from  the  hive.  In  this  way  he  may 
always  know,  in  a few  minutes,  the  exact  condition  of  any  hive.  He 
has  perfect  control  of  the  hives  in  all  respects.  He  can  remove  or 
introduce  queens  ; can  take  out  frames  of  brood  or  honey,  or  put  in 
frames  of  brood  or  honey  from  other  hives  : can  lift  out  the  frames, 
set  them  in  an  extractor,  throw  the  honey  out,  and  return  the  frames 
to  be  filled  again.  Every  year  brings  a wider  and  fuller  recognition 
from  intelligent  bee-keepers,  of  the  great  value  of  Mr.  Lang  troth’s 
invention.  As  the  science  of  bee-culture  developes  to  the  magnitude 
it  will  undoubtedly  attain,  Mr.  Langstroth  will  be  honored  among 
the  great  inventors  of  this  age. 

The  standard  Langstroth  frame  is  9^  inches  deep  by  I7|-  inches 
long,  the  top  bar  projecting  f of  an  inch  at  each  end,  in  order  to  rest 
in  the  rabbets.  There  are  several  other  frames  and  hives,  all  con- 
structed on  the  same  principle,  so  far  as  movable  frames  are  con- 
cerned, and  differing  only  in  the  dimensions  of  the  frame.  The 
Quinby  frame  is  by  i8-J  inches  ; the  Adair,  11^  by  I3f  inches  ; 
the  American,  12  by  12  inches  ; and  the  Gallup,  11J  by  11^  inches. 
These  include  all  the  frames  that  have  been  used  to  any  large  extent, 
but  many  bee-keepers  have  made  frames  and  hives  of  different  di- 
mensions to  suit  their  own  fancy. 

These  various  frames  have  eager  partizans.  From  the  reports  of 
success  by  different  bee-keepers,  it  appears  that  any  one  of  the  frames 
in  the  hands  of  an  intelligent  manager,  will  give  success.  Probably 
a much  larger  number  of  the  standard  Langstroth  are  used  than  of 
any  other.  No  bee-keeper  has  reported  so  large  an  average  profit  in 
a single  season,  from  an  equal  number  of  swarms,  as  Mr.  Doo- 
little, of  Borodino,  N.  Y.,  who  uses  the  Gallup  frame. 

5.  The  Gallup  Frame. — (Page  35.)  I have  never  seen  any  reason 
to  regret  adopting  the  Gallup  frame.  In  my  experience  with  it  no 
frame  could  have  done  better.  Though  it  is  not  used  by  a large 
number  of  bee-keepers,  yet  those  who  do  use  it  are  generally  intelli- 
gent and  successful.  In  an  article  in  the  American  Bee  Journal , 
Vol.XIII.yJ>.  227,  written  by  C Clute,  of  Keokuk,  Iowa,  I find 
that  Prof.  Cook  is  quoted  as  saying,  “I  prefer  the  Gallup  frame  for 
these  reasons  : (1)  It  can  be  used  for  nuclei,  and  save  making  small 
ones  on  purpose  for  this.  (2)  It  can  be  made  more  compact  (in  the 
hive)  and  so  save  heat  in  fall  and  spring.  (3)  It  is  easy  to  handle. 
(4)  It  does  not  trouble  by  comb  falling  out.  I have  tried  all  sizes, 
and  find  this  best.” 


i6o 


NOTES. 


6.  The  Italian  Bees. — (Page  40.)  “ The  so-called  Italian  bee 

has  been  cultivated  from  time  immemorial  in  the  northern  portions  of 
Italy,  and  some  adjourning  districts,  and  differs  from  the  common 
honey-bee  only  by  its  pecular  color  and  workings.  In  the  workers 
the  first  three  upper  segments  of  the  abdomen  are  of  a bright  orange 
color,  though  the  lower  margin  of  the  third  segment  is  black.  While 
young,  this  coloring  is  brighter,  and  becomes  darker  as  they  increase 
in  age  ; but  under  all  circumstances  it  remains  sufficiently  marked  to 
enable  the  observer  to  distinguish  the  two  kinds  at  a glance.  Still 
more  conspicuous  is  the  difference  between  the  Italian  and  the 
common  queen.  The  Italian  queen  has  not  only  the  orange  color 
segments  in  common  with  the  workers,  but  the  yellow  predominates, 
also,  in  all  the  other  segments.  The  drones  differ  from  the  common 
drones,  in  having  the  first  three  segments  bordered  with  orange,  and 
in  having  orange-colored  spots  besides.  * * * Though  the  Ital- 

ian bee  was  so  long  and  so  extensively  known,  it  escaped  the  notice 
of  German  apiarians,  who  little  anticipated  how  important  it  would 
prove  to  be  for  the  settlement  of  controversies  which  had  long  been 
maintained  among  them.  Capt.  Baldenstein,  of  Cour,  in  the  Orisons, 
first  called  attention  to  this  bee  in  1848,  as  peculiarly  adapted  to  de- 
termine the  question  as  to  the  origin  of  drone-eggs,  and  as  further- 
more of  great  practical  value  in  bee-culture.”  He  subsequently  in- 
troduced them  into  Switzerland,  and  though  he  did  not  succeed  in 
breeding  pure  stock  from  them,  he  arrived  at  important  results.  In 
1853  the  famous  Dzierzon,  one  of  the  great  fathers  of  modern  bee- 
culture,  received  a hive  of  Italians  as  a gift  from  Madame  de  Prollius, 
of  Mira,  near  Venice.  He  succeeded  in  breeding  pure  stock  from 
them.  By  his  efforts,  and  by  those  of  Count  Baldenstein,  the  atten- 
tion of  bee-keepers  in  Germany,  and  in  other  countries  of  Europe, 
was  called  to  the  merits  of  this  bee,  and  it  has  now  been  very  widely 
introduced. — Rev . George  Klein,  in  American  Bee  Journal , Vol.  /., 
p.  16. 

Italian  bees  were  introduced  into  the  United  States  about  the  year 
1850.  I think  the  first  successful  importation  was  by  S.  B.  Parsons, 
of  Flushing,  Long  Island.  They  are  now  found  in  nearly  all  parts 
of  our  country,  though  in  many  localities  the  common  black  bee  still 
predominates.  There  are  now  several  dealers  who  receive  regular 
invoices  of  Italian  queens  every  summer,  direct  from  Italy,  and 
supply  them  to  their  customers  in  all  sections.  Pure  imported 
queens  can  now  be  bought  as  low  as  $4.00  each. 

An  experienced  bee-keeper  sums  up  the  merits  of  Italians,  as  com- 
pared with  black  bees,  as  follows  : (1)  They  possess  longer  tongues 
and  can  gather  from  flowers  which  are  useless  to  the  black  bee. 
(2)  They  are  more  active,  and  with  the  same  opportunities  will  col- 


NOTES . 


165 


good,  the  linn  was  very  abundant,  and  the  hives  were  very  strong  in 
bees.  Under  these  conditions  a much  larger  yield  per  day,  than 
mine,  is  often  obtained. 

R.  R.  Murphy,  Garden  Plain,  111.,  writes  : “I  have  a swarm  of 
bees  on  the  scales  that  was  fifteen  pounds  heavier  this  morning  at 
six  o’clock  than  at  the  same  time  yesterday.” — American  Bee  Jour- 
nal, Vol.  xiii. , p.  240. 

G.  M.  Doolittle,  Borodino,  N.  Y.,  reports  that  the  largest  yield 
from  his  best  swarm  was  sixty-six  pounds  in  three  days,  or  an  average 
of  twenty-two  pounds  a day. — Gleanings  in  Bee-Culture , Vol.  v.,  p. 
263. 

13.  (Page  103.)  A hive  of  bees  without  a queen  will  continue 
working  with  spirit,  if  they  have  the  eggs  or  larvae  from  which  to 
grow  a queen.  But  if  they  build  comb  when  having  no  queen  it  is 
drone  comb.  A hive  with  a queen  a year  or  more  old  has,  under 
any  circumstances,  a strong  determination  to  build  some  drone  comb, 
and  if  honey  is  coming  in  rapidly,  and  new  combs  are  needed  for 
storing,  it  will  often  build  a large  amount  of  drone  comb.  A hive 
with  a young  queen,  grown  during  the  season,  builds  worker  comb 
almost  entirely.  The  skillful  bee-keeper  takes  advantage  of  this 
fact  to  get  his  combs,  for  the  brood  chambers  of  his  hives,  built  in 
hives  having  young  queens,  and  thus  he  avoids  having  much  drone 
comb. 

14.  (Page  107.)  If  the  cost  of  growing  bees  to  make  new  swarms 
is  so  great,  some  may  ask,  why  grow  them  at  all,  why  not  buy  bees  in 
box  hives,  as  I did  in  the  Spring  ? 

Under  some  circumstances  it  is  more  economical  to  buy  bees  than 
it  is  to  raise  them.  That  is,  the  skillful  bee-keeper,  by  keeping  his 
bees  at  work  gathering  honey  and  storing  it  in  combs  for  market, 
can  make  more  money  than  he  can  by  allowing  them  to  rear  brood 
for  making  new  swarms.  But  my  course  was  best  for  me  under  the 
circumstances,  as  will  be  seen  from  the  following  facts  : 

a.  There  were  no  bees  near  me  which  could  have  been  purchased. 
To  have  gone  some  distance  would  have  been  an  expense  and  trouble 
for  transportation. 

b.  Bees  bought  must  have  been  transferred  to  the  hive  I was 
using.  This  transferring  would  have  made  a large  amount  of  extra 
work. 

c.  I could  have  bought  only  black  bees,  and  those  probably  with 
old  and  feeble  queens.  These  would  have  been  of  little  service  to 
me  that  first  year,  for  I could  not,  at  that  late  period  in  the  season, 
have  built  them  up  into  vigorous  condition  for  collecting  the  fall 


1 66 


NOTES. 


harvest.  To  have  bought  black  bees  would  have  introduced  a large 
number  of  black  drones  into  my  apiary,  and  so  have  made  it  impos- 
sible for  me  to  raise  pure  Italians. 

d.  By  my  plan  I secured  young,  vigorous  Italian  queens,  purely 
fertilized,  and  pure  Italian  workers,  ready  to  begin  work  at  once  in 
collecting  the  fall  harvest. 

e.  Hence  my  new  swarms  gathered  honey  enough  in  a short  time 
to  pay  for  themselves  several  times  over.  Considering  the  amount  of 
honey  they  gathered  for  me,  I had  no  reason  to  complain  of  their 
cost.  I,  however,  made  a serious  mistake  in  having  my  apple  blos- 
soms honey  stored  in  comb,  and  thus  being  compelled  to  use  the  nice 
clover  honey  for  feeding  the  bees.  The  apple  blossoms  honey  would 
have  been  just  as  good  for  the  bees,  and  by  feeding  it  instead  of  the 
white  clover  I should  have  saved  the  difference  between  its  value  and 
that  of  the  white  clover, — five  cents  a pound,  quite  a large  sum  in 
the  aggregate. 

15.  (Page  1 2 1.)  My  yield  of  comb  honey  was  large.  So  great  a 
quantity  per  hive  could  have  been  secured  only  by  extracting  fre- 
quently during  a flow  of  honey,  and  then  feeding  back  to  the  bees 
when  the  flow  ceased,  so  as  to  keep  them  at  work  storing  in  comb, 
when  otherwise  they  would  have  been  idle. 

G.  M.  Doolittle,  ofBorodino,N.  Y.,  reports  a yield  of  566  pounds 
of  extracted  honey  from  one  hive  in  one  year. — Bee-Keepers'  Maga- 
zine, Vol . v.,p.  234. 

If  he  had  fed  this  back  to  the  bees  to  be  stored  in  combs,  allow- 
ing that  there  would  have  been  a loss  of  one-ninth  in  weight  in  so 
doing,  he  would  have  had  503  pounds  of  comb  honey  for  the  yield  of 
this  hive.  Mr.  Doolittle  sold  his  white  comb  honey  for  twenty  cents 
a pound,  and  the  dark  honey  for  less  ; an  average  of  fifteen  cents  a 
pound  for  both  white  and  dark  will  be  a low  estimate.  This  gives 
an  income  of  $75  45  from  one  hive  in  one  year,  not  to  mention  the 
increase  in  stock,  and  Mr.  Doolittle  about  doubled  his  stock  the  same 
year.  If  such  success  can  be  achieved  often,  it  will  make  bee-keep- 
ing a most  important  industry. 

16.  Bee-Keeping  as  a Business. — (Page  151.)  According  to 
the  New  York  Sun , Mr.  J.  S.  Harbison,  of  San  Diego  Co.,  Cal., 
took  to  the  New  York  market  in  the  fall  of  1876,  200,000  pounds  of 
honey,  the  product  of  his  hives  for  that  year.  Mr.  Harbison  then 
had  in  San  Diego  Co.  3,000  swarms  of  bees,  located  in  six  different 
places. — Gleanings , Vol.  iv.,p.  298. 

Adam  Grimm,  of  Jefferson,  Wis.,  had  at  one  time  1400  swarms, 
from  the  annual  product  of  which  he  received  a large  income.  He 


NOTES. 


1 67 


was  a most  enthusiastic  and  industrious  bee-keeper.  He  died  in 
1876,  leaving  a fortune  which  was  the  result  of  his  work  in  bee- 
culture. — Gleanings , Vol.  iv.,  p.  303. 

Hiram  Roop,  Carson  City,  Mich.,  says:  “My  report  for  1876 
does  not  compare  well  with  my  others.  My  honey  sales  for  this  sea- 
son amount  to  $1,088  05,  clear  from  expense.  Sales  of  bees, 
$433  °5-  Total,  $1,521  10.  I shall  try  to  winter  190  good 
swarms.” — Gleanings , Vol.  V.yp.  309. 

G.  M.  Doolittle,  Borodino, N.  Y.,  reports  that  in  1877  he  worked 
sixty-seven  swarms  for  surplus  honey.  From  these  he  secured  11,177 
pounds  of  comb  and  extracted  honey.  He  adds,  “ In  conclusion  we 
would  say  that  with  a practical  apiarist  bee-keeping  is  a paying 
business,  even  at  the  present  prices  of  honey,  we  having  cleared 
nearly  $6,000  from  our  bees,  free  of  all  expense,  within  the  last  five 
years,  with  an  average  of  about  fifty  stocks  in  the  spring  of  each 
year.” — Bee-Keepers'  Magazine , Vol.  v.y  p.  235. 

Captain  Hetherington,  of  Cherry  Valley,  N.  Y.,  is  reported  to 
have  more  than  1,000  swarms.  The  newspapers  say  that  he  makes 
bee-keeping  a paying  business. 

17.  The  National  Bee-Keepers’  Association. — (Page  154.) 
There  are  many  state,  district  and  county  associations  of  bee-keepers. 
There  is  also  a National  Association,  which  held  its  last  meeting  at 
the  Cooper  Institute,  New  York  City,  October  16th,  1877.  At  this 
meeting  many  important  papers  were  read,  and  much  valuable  dis- 
cussion was  drawn  out.  Rev.  J.  W.  Shearer  was  appointed  to  pre- 
pare an  address  to  the  public,  “ setting  forth  some  of  the  principal 
improvements  made  in  bee-culture,  and  giving  a few  hints  concern- 
ing its  general  character  and  usefulness.”  The  address,  as  adopted, 
is  as  follows : 


FACTS  FOR  THE  PUBLIC. 

The  National  Bee-Keepers’  Convention,  in  session  in  New  York, 
October  16th  to  19th,  1877,  aware  of  the  general  lack  of  information 
concerning  improved  methods  of  apiculture  and  its  products,  respect- 
fully submit  the  following  statement  of  facts  for  general  information 
concerning  a large  source  of  personal  and  national  revenue,  in  pre- 
serving the  honey  which  God  has  caused  to  flow  so  abundantly  in 
the  vast  and  varied  flora  of  our  country  : 

1.  It  is  now  only  a few  years  since  the  introduction  of  movable- 
comb  hives  has  opened  up  a new  era  in  bee-keeping,  and  placed  it  on 
the  basis  of  a successful  business  pursuit.  Such  hives,  adapted  to 
climate,  furnish  every  facility  for  intelligent  management  of  bees,  by 


NOTES. 


1 68 

regulating  swarming,  guarding  against  moths,  and  manipulating  both 
bees  and  comb. 

2.  The  invention  of  the  extractor , or  honey  slinger,  a machine 
which  empties  the  honey  from  the  combs  by  centrifugal  force,  with- 
out injury,  so  that  the  combs  may  be  returned  to  the  bees,  marks 
another  great  step  in  apiculture.  Thus  virgin  honey,  free  from 
foreign  admixture,  is  obtained,  having  the  flavor  of  the  flower  from 
which  it  is  drawn. 

3.  The  further  invention  of  artificial  comb -foundation,  made  of 
pure  wax,  first  successfully  used  to  a large  extent  this  season,  com- 
pletes the  requisites  for  placing  bee-keeping  on  the  basis  of  a great 
industry  in  our  country.  Bees  receive  this  artificial  comb-foundation 
with  readiness  as  receptacles  both  for  honey  and  brood. 

4.  Simultaneous  with  the  first  and  all  of  these  improvements,  the 
introduction  of  Italian  bees , and  of  improved  methods  of  rearing 
queens,  and  of  transporting  and  introducing  them  to  colonies,  has 
greatly  improved  the  value  of  the  honey  gatherers,  both,  because  of 
the  superiority  of  the  Italian  bee,  and  the  introduction  of  new  blood. 
New  blood  prevents  the  danger  from  in-and-in  breeding. 

5.  The  great  drawback  to  apiculture  is  the  sting  of  the  bee. 
Danger  from  this  source  is  now  largely  overcome  by  the  simple  ap- 
pliances used  for  the  protection  of  the  person,  and  for  subduing  the 
bees.  The  most  vicious  colony  may  be  subdued  in  a very  few 
minutes. 

6.  To  consumers  of  honey,  a few  facts  are  necessary  in  this 
article,  to  preserve  them  from  imposition.  Nice  white  comb  speaks 
for  itself,  and  is  generally  admired  ; but  the  price  many  lovers  of 
honey  cannot  afford.  It  makes  a beautiful  dish  for  the  table,  but  is 
no  better  than  extracted  honey.  All  comb  is  wax,  and  wax  in  the 
stomach  is  perfectly  indigestible.  Extracted  honey  is  the  pure  liquid 
honey  as  it  is  taken  from  the  combs  by  the  honey  slinger,  free  from 
any  foreign  admixture.  It  is  entirely  different  from  what  is  known 
in  the  market  as  strained  honey.  Consumers  help  to  impose  upon 
themselves  by  the  false  idea  that  pure  honey  will  not  granulate. 
They  desire  ungranulated  honey,  and  dealers  will  attempt  to  supply 
the  demand.  Almost  all  pure  honey  will  granulate  when  exposed 
for  some  time  to  light  and  cold.  The  granulated  state  is  a fine 
evidence  of  pure  honey.  Much  of  the  jar  honey  heretofore  sold  in 
the  markets,  and  recommended  not  to  granulate,  is  a very  inferior 
article,  composed  largely  of  glucose  or  some  inferior  substance. 
Granulated  honey  can  be  reduced  to  its  liquid  state  in  a few  moments 
by  placing  the  jar  in  warm  water.  When  thus  liquified  it  so  remains 
for  some  time  before  again  crystalizing.  Consumers  may  be  sure  of 


NOTES.  169 

a good  wholesome  article  by  purchasing  granulated  honey  and  re- 
ducing it. 

7.  To  producers.  By  full  use  of  all  improvements  in  bee-keep- 
ing, the  honey  crops  of  America  may  be  almost  indefinitely  increased 
and  become  a great  source  of  national  revenue.  None  need  fear 
over-production.  The  home  demand  and  consumption  are  largely 
increased  whenever  people  learn  to  know  the  superiority  of  such 
honey.  Dealers  in  New  York  have  already  commenced  a large  ex- 
port trade,  and  they  tell  us  that  their  only  difficulty  is  in  procuring 
honey  in  the  proper  shape  and  quantity  to  supply  the  growing  de- 
mand. Trade  demands  that  honey  be  put  up  in  nice  attractive  pack- 
ages, and  in  small  parcels  or  jars,  so  as  to  be  readily  handled  by 
grocers  and  consumers.  Honey  was  for  centuries  the  principal  sweet 
known,  and  is  one  of  the  most  healthful  of  all.  Improvement  in 
refining  sugar  has  within  the  last  two  or  three  centuries  led  to  its 
general  adoption.  Why  may  not  also  new  improvements  in  api- 
culture restore  it  to  its  true  place  as  a general  favorite,  which  was 
lost  by  bad  management  and  the  consequent  corresponding  limited 
supply  ? ” 

We  believe  that  improvements  in  bee-keeping  as  compared  with 
old  methods,  are  not  less  than  those  seen  in  railroads  and  steamboats, 
as  compared  with  former  modes  of  travel. — The  Bee-Keepers'  Maga- 
zine, 1877 270. 


I 


